Agreement follows pension plan's recent moves to exit the British aviation sector
Australian infrastructure giant Macquarie Asset Management is set to finalize a multibillion-pound deal with Ontario Teacher’ Pension Plan (OTPP), as reported in an article by The Sydney Morning Herald.
Through the agreement, Macquarie will acquire the pension plan’s holdings in several airports within Europe, according to Sunday Times’ industry sources. Notably, OTPP’s European airport portfolio includes London City, Birmingham, and Bristol airports, with the pension plan’s stakes being 25%, 27%, and 55%, respectively. While the exact number has not been made public, the value of OTP’s entire European aviation portfolio estimated to be worth more than $20.1 billion.
OTPP’s move to sell its stakes from the airports to Macquarie followed its recent string of decisions that involved its gradual exit from its European airport portfolio. Last year, the pension plan had sold its stakes in the Copenhagen and Brussels airports to co-shareholder and Danish investor Arbejdmarkedets Tillægspension (ATP) and Flemish public investment company ParticipatieMaatschappij Vlaanderen (PMV), respectively, with the reasoning behind the decisions left unclear.
Meanwhile, Macquarie’s pending acquisition marked its return to the aviation sector in Europe after the stakes it held in the Aberdeen, Glasgow, and Southampton (AGS) airports a few months back. The article further noted that the move followed the rise in interest among investors for UK airports as the post-pandemic period led to a surge in passengers and government calls to expand capacity.
The acquisition also showcases how the bank aimed to position itself as a key foreign investor in UK infrastructure, despite drawing criticism as the previous owner of Thames Water, which currently faces numerous issues concerning its mounting debts and pollution.
While further details regarding the deal have yet to be made public by Macquarie and OTPP, the agreement followed recent moves in the European aviation sector such as France’s Vinci acquiring a 50.01% stake in Edinburgh Airport and German Infrastructure Group AviAlliance’s purchase of the AGS Airports.
