Macquarie Group (ASX: MQG) said its Macquarie Asset Management (MAM) unit had agreed to sell a business that owns three British airports for an enterprise value of £1.53 billion (A$2.5 billion) to a Canadian pension fund.
Macquarie said MAM, via Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund 4, and its joint venture partner, Spanish infrastructure and construction company Ferrovial, had reached an agreement to sell AGS Airports to AviAlliance.
AvAlliance is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Canadian pension fund Public Sector Pension Investment Board.
AGS Airports was established as a 50:50 joint-venture after Macquarie and Ferrovial bought the primary airports serving Aberdeen, Glasgow and Southampton from Heathrow Airport Holdings in 2014.
Macquarie said when British air arrivals fell by 89% between April 2020 and January 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the partners provided vital support to ensure the resilience of the airports despite unprecedented challenges to day-to-day operations.
Martin Bradley, Head of Infrastructure for MAM in EMEA, said the partnership had enabled AGS Airports to invest £250 million in improvements including increasing Aberdeen International Airport’s capacity, revamping Glasgow Airport, and extending the runway at Southampton Airport.
“Following this decade of investment, we are pleased to be passing the baton to AviAlliance to unlock the next phase of growth,” Bradley said in a statement.
Macquarie has invested or arranged more than £60 billion in British infrastructure over the last 20 years and was supporting £20 billion of investment in its energy, transport, utilities, social and telecommunications portfolio in England, Wales and Scotland.
The transaction is expected to reach financial close by Q1 2025, following the satisfaction of customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.
AGS Airports Chief Executive Officer Andy Cliffe said Macquarie and Ferrovial had played a central role in unlocking the airports’ full potential.
“Their close partnership with the teams across our three airports ensured we had the support to invest in our passenger offering while improving our operations,” he said in the statement.