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Two Canadian pension giants plan to sell their stakes in Associated British Ports in a deal that they hope will value the UK’s biggest ports operator at more than £10bn.
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (Omers) — which own 34 per cent and 33 per cent of ABP respectively — have appointed bankers at investment bank Morgan Stanley to explore a sale of their stakes, according to people familiar with the situation.
A deal could be reached as soon as the second half of this year, one of the people said, although they cautioned that talks remain at an early stage. Asset manager Hermes, which owns about 6 per cent of the group, could also sell its stake, according to some of the people close to discussions.
ABP owns 21 ports in the UK including Southampton and the Humber, and handles around a quarter of the country’s seaborne trade. It was taken private in 2006 by a group of investors, including Goldman Sachs’ infrastructure arm and Omers, for £2.8bn. Ownership of the group has since changed, with CPPIB acquiring its stake in 2015.
Other major shareholders include Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC with 20 per cent, and the Kuwait Investment Authority’s Wren House Infrastructure with 10 per cent.
The sale process highlights the rising appetite from private capital groups to back infrastructure assets, which are seen as a source of stable returns. The stake sale is expected to draw interest from other large infrastructure investors, although the size of the deal means the number of bidders is expected to be limited.
ABP, which is also a significant industrial real estate developer, has been expanding its UK operations in part by growing its support to renewable energy suppliers, including the offshore wind industry. It has also received permission to build a new freight and ferry terminal at Immingham in north-east England.
CPPIB, which manages C$777.5bn ($568bn) of assets, opened its London office in 2008. Other UK assets in its portfolio include stakes in student accommodation provider Unite Students.
Omers, which manages C$141bn of assets, had been the biggest shareholder in Thames Water, but wrote off its investment in the debt-laden water utility in 2024 as the company struggled with rising interest rates, regulatory disputes and infrastructure failures.
ABP Ports, CPPIB, Omers, Hermes and Morgan Stanley all declined to comment.
