IFM fund to take control of Associated British Ports

CPP Investments and OMERS have agreed to sell their entire stakes in Associated British Ports, 33.9 percent and 30.0 percent respectively, to a fund managed by Australia's IFM Investors, in a transaction the Financial Times reported values Britain's largest port operator at more than 10 billion pounds.

Why it matters: ABP handles about a quarter of UK seaborne trade and supports more than half of the country's offshore wind capacity, so control of the group is passing from two Canadian pension funds to an Australian pension owned manager at one of the largest UK infrastructure valuations of the year, subject to regulatory and national security approval.

Data as of Joint announcement by CPP Investments and OMERS, published Wednesday, October 21, 2026 and read in full, for the agreed stakes, the undisclosed terms, the approvals and the expected completion in the first half of 2027; the valuation above 10 billion pounds is the Financial Times figure reported by Splash247, and the parties did not disclose financial terms. The account of the bidding contest is from Splash247, October 21, 2026, read in full.

CPP Investments and OMERS have agreed to sell their entire stakes in Associated British Ports to a fund managed by IFM Investors, the two Canadian pension funds announced on Wednesday. CPP Investments holds 33.9 percent of ABP, acquired in 2015, and OMERS holds 30.0 percent, first acquired in 2006, so the fund managed by IFM will take a majority stake of about 64 percent in Britain’s largest port operator. Financial terms were not disclosed; the Financial Times reported a valuation of more than 10 billion pounds (about 13.4 billion dollars), according to Splash247.

ABP is the UK’s largest ports group by tonnage, handles approximately 25 percent of UK seaborne trade and provides support for over half of the UK’s offshore wind, the announcement said. Splash247 reported that it operates 21 ports, including Southampton, Immingham and the Humber complex, spanning containers, vehicles, bulk commodities, cruise shipping and offshore energy infrastructure, and that Singapore’s GIC and Kuwait’s Wren House Infrastructure remain among the minority investors.

IFM’s global head of infrastructure, Kyle Mangini, said the transaction reflects the manager’s commitment to mobilising pension capital into UK infrastructure, and ABP chief executive Henrik Pedersen called it a bold new chapter for the group. CPP Investments said the sale is an attractive opportunity to realise the value of a long term investment and recycle capital, and OMERS, which has backed ABP for 20 years, said the UK remains a priority market. Splash247 reported that IFM saw off competition from KKR and Apollo and from Gautam Adani’s group.

The transaction is subject to customary shareholder and regulatory approvals, and to mandatory national security filings in the UK according to Splash247, and is expected to complete in the first half of 2027, the announcement said.

IFM fund to take control of Associated British Ports

Sources