Infrastructure investor Macquarie has reached financial close on the acquisition of stakes in Bristol and Birmingham Airport.
The deal sees the Australian asset manager acquire a 55 per cent stake in Bristol Airport and a 26.5 per cent stake in Birmingham Airport from Canada's Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (OTPP).
The transaction - the financial details of which have not been disclosed - was via the Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund 7 on behalf of long-term institutional investors including pension funds and insurance companies, and co-investors.
Pensions manager LGPS Central, which has partnered with Macquarie on the acquisition, is investing on behalf of two of its partner funds - West Midlands Pension Fund and Cheshire Pension Fund - as co-investors into the portfolio of investments in Bristol, Birmingham, and London City Airports.
In June, Macquarie announced it had agreed to acquire stakes in Bristol, Birmingham, and London City Airports from OTPP.
Bristol Airport is the largest airport in the South West of England and has historically been one of the fastest-growing regional airports in the º£½ÇÊÓƵ.
It serves over 10 million passengers a year and operates routes to more than 115 destinations, contributing around £2bn to the South West and South Wales economies each year.
Birmingham Airport is the º£½ÇÊÓƵ’s seventh-largest airport, handling approximately 14 million passengers a year and supporting an estimated 30,900 jobs in the region.
It is home to around 35 carriers and serves around 140 direct international routes across 41 countries.
In October, Macquarie announced it had acquired an additional 50 per cent stake in London City Airport from Alberta Investment Management Corporation and OMERS, taking its total ownership of the airport to 75 per cent.
Macquarie Group has operated in Britain for more than 35 years and has invested and arranged more than £60bn in º£½ÇÊÓƵ infrastructure since 1999.
Last year, Macquarie announced its intentions to invest a further £20bn in the º£½ÇÊÓƵ.
