Australian fund IFM agrees £10bn deal to take control of the ports handling a quarter of Britain's sea trade
The Port of Southampton, one of 19 ports in the Associated British Ports network that Australian fund IFM has agreed to acquire in a £10bn deal beating off rival bids from KKR, Apollo and Gautam Adani.
Southampton, Immingham and the Humber are among the 19 ports in the Associated British Ports network, which underpins more than half of the UK's offshore wind sector. CPP Investments and OMERS, two Canadian pension funds holding a combined 63.9% stake, are withdrawing after around twenty years as owners. IFM saw off rival bids from KKR, Apollo and Indian billionaire Gautam Adani to clinch the deal, which still requires national security clearance and is expected to complete in the first half of 2027.
IFM's backers include Australian pension funds alongside the UK pension fund Nest.
ABP was taken private in 2006 in a £2.8bn deal, a fraction of today's price.
ABP boss Henrik Pedersen hailed the sale as 'a powerful endorsement' of the business.
