Key Takeaways
- • IFM Investors, the Australian infrastructure investor, has bought a majority stake in Associated British Ports (ABP), valuing the UK's largest port operator at more than £10bn, according to people with knowledge of the process cited by the Financial Times.
- • The deal acquires the combined stakes of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments, 34%) and Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS, 30%), ending roughly two decades of Canadian ownership.
- • IFM beat private capital groups KKR and Apollo, as well as billionaire Gautam Adani, for the asset; financial terms were not officially disclosed.
- • ABP operates 19 UK ports, including Southampton (the UK's third-largest container port) and the Humber, handling about a quarter of the country's seaborne trade.
- • The transaction reinforces IFM's push to mobilise UK pension capital into domestic infrastructure, as the owner of IFM includes the UK's National Employment Savings Trust (Nest), which pledged £5bn to IFM last year.
Summary
Australian infrastructure investor IFM Investors has agreed to buy a majority stake in Associated British Ports, Britain's largest port operator, in a transaction that people with knowledge of the process said values the company at more than £10bn. The Financial Times reported that the terms were not disclosed. The deal involves the combined stakes of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, which holds 34%, and the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, which holds 30%. The sale closes a two-decade period of Canadian ownership of the business.
IFM prevailed over a competitive field that included private capital groups KKR and Apollo, as well as billionaire Indian industrialist Gautam Adani. The FT first reported in February that the Canadian investors were preparing to sell their stakes.
ABP owns 19 ports across the UK, including Southampton, the country's third-largest container port, and the Humber, a major industrial hub. Collectively, the ports handle around a quarter of the UK's seaborne trade. The company was formed in the early 1980s following the privatisation of the British Transport Docks Board and floated in 1983. It was taken private in 2006 by a consortium including the infrastructure arm of Goldman Sachs and Omers for £2.8bn. Ownership later shifted, with CPP Investments acquiring its stake in 2015. Other leading shareholders include Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC and the Kuwait Investment Authority's Wren House Infrastructure.
Kyle Mangini, IFM's global head of infrastructure, said the firm looked forward to supporting ABP's continued infrastructure and operational development, and described the deal as reflecting IFM's commitment to mobilising pension capital into UK infrastructure. James Bryce, head of infrastructure at CPP Investments, described the sale as an attractive opportunity to realise the value of the long-term investment.
IFM is owned by 15 Australian pension funds and Nest, the UK's auto-enrolment workplace pension scheme. The manager holds stakes in seaport businesses worldwide and has about $96bn of infrastructure assets under management. Nest pledged last year to invest £5bn with IFM.
IFM prevailed over a competitive field that included private capital groups KKR and Apollo, as well as billionaire Indian industrialist Gautam Adani. The FT first reported in February that the Canadian investors were preparing to sell their stakes.
ABP owns 19 ports across the UK, including Southampton, the country's third-largest container port, and the Humber, a major industrial hub. Collectively, the ports handle around a quarter of the UK's seaborne trade. The company was formed in the early 1980s following the privatisation of the British Transport Docks Board and floated in 1983. It was taken private in 2006 by a consortium including the infrastructure arm of Goldman Sachs and Omers for £2.8bn. Ownership later shifted, with CPP Investments acquiring its stake in 2015. Other leading shareholders include Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC and the Kuwait Investment Authority's Wren House Infrastructure.
Kyle Mangini, IFM's global head of infrastructure, said the firm looked forward to supporting ABP's continued infrastructure and operational development, and described the deal as reflecting IFM's commitment to mobilising pension capital into UK infrastructure. James Bryce, head of infrastructure at CPP Investments, described the sale as an attractive opportunity to realise the value of the long-term investment.
IFM is owned by 15 Australian pension funds and Nest, the UK's auto-enrolment workplace pension scheme. The manager holds stakes in seaport businesses worldwide and has about $96bn of infrastructure assets under management. Nest pledged last year to invest £5bn with IFM.
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