A consortium led by Macquarie Bank Ltd came closer to clinching an US$8.7 billion takeover of Australia's Qantas Airways Ltd on Feb. 12 after the airline released an independent report saying the offer was fair.

The report said the offer price of AU$5.60 a share was within its valuation range of AU$5.18 to AU$5.98.

Qantas said its board had unanimously recommended shareholders accept the bid. Its recommendation had been conditional on the independent report finding the bid price to be fair and reasonable.

"Qantas has delivered year-on-year profit, growth and diversification. But while the business has prospered, the Qantas share price has not," Chairman Margaret Jackson said in a letter to shareholders.

"The offer is the best available option to enable Qantas shareholders to realize significant value for their investment."

The AU$5.60 bid price values Qantas at more than 18 times forecast earnings, compared with P/Es of about 17.4 for Cathay Pacific Airways and just over 13 for Singapore Airlines Ltd.

The report by Grant Samuel & Associates said any price above AU$5.18 would be fair value.

Analysts said the report was no surprise and the bid was expected to succeed, but it raised questions about the Qantas' management's past criticism of how the market valued the airline.

"Qantas management seem to be so vocal historically in being critical of the market. I am surprise to see that the independent expert's report seems to be very close to what the market was valuing Qantas at pre-bid," said Fabian Babich, an analyst at brokerage BBY.

The bid consortium, Airline Partners Australia (APA), also includes private equity firm Texas Pacific Group, Allco Equity Partners, Allco Finance Group and Canadian investment firm Onex Corp.