After nearly 25 years of investing in airports, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board is departing the business with the sale of its stakes in airports in London, Birmingham and Bristol, England, as well as in Brussels. The transactions come two months after the C$266.3 million ($194 billion) pension fund sold its stake in Copenhagen Airports, which owns and operates the two major airports in Denmark.
The OTPP’s stakes in the three English airports will be sold to Macquarie Asset Management’s Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund 7. The fund invests on behalf of institutional investors, such as pension funds and insurance companies. Under the terms of the transactions, Macquarie is acquiring a 55% stake in Bristol Airport, a 26.5% stake in Birmingham Airport and a 25% stake in London City Airport. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The OTPP originally acquired the stakes in the Birmingham and Bristol airports in 2007 and 2008, respectively, and bought a 25% stake in London City Airport in 2016. The sales of its stakes in Birmingham and Bristol airports are expected to be completed in the year’s fourth quarter, pending regulatory approval, while the sale of London City airport is already completed.
According to the pension fund, since it first invested in the Bristol airport in 2008, there has been a 72% increase in traffic, with growth of more than 10 million passengers per year. Since first investing in the Birmingham airport in 2007, it has registered 35% growth in passengers to more than 13 million at the end of 2024 from 9.6 million. London City airport has received more than 600 million pounds ($437 million) in investments to expand the airport over the last nine years.
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The OTPP agreed to sell its stake in Brussels Airport Co., in which it first invested in 2011, to Flemish public investment company ParticipatieMaatschappij Vlaanderen. The pension fund touted 25% growth in passengers since 2011, rising to 23.6 million passengers per year through the end of 2024. The transaction is subject to relevant regulatory clearances. Financial terms were not disclosed.
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Tags: Infrastructure, Macquarie Asset Management, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, OTPP
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