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$13.4 Billion for Britain’s Biggest Port Operator: Why Are Infrastructure Funds Buying Ports Like Utilities?
A 63.9% controlling stake is changing hands. The test is whether contracted port cash flow, debt capacity and new energy infrastructure can support a reported £10 billion business valuation.
22 October 2026 · 2025 ABP accounts · 21 October deal announcement · GBP financial modelIFM Investors has agreed to take control of Associated British Ports by acquiring CPP Investments’ 33.9% holding and OMERS’ 30.0% holding. The aggregate 63.9% interest is a majority stake, but the buyers and sellers disclosed no transaction price. Financial reporting values the entire business at roughly £10 billion ($13.4 billion). That is not a confirmed £10 billion payment by IFM. Completion remains subject to approvals, with the first half of 2027 targeted.
ABP’s 2025 bulk tonnage declined 3%, yet group revenue increased 4.6% to £819.8 million and consolidated EBITDA rose 10.1% to £473.7 million. A company earning more while handling less bulk cargo is precisely the sort of contract-backed infrastructure model sought by long-duration pension capital. But ABP is not a price-regulated water or electricity utility: its port tariffs and commercial arrangements face a different regulatory and competitive regime.
The difficult part of the £10 billion story is leverage. ABP reported £3.016 billion of consolidated net borrowings, a 6.37-times net-borrowings-to-EBITDA covenant ratio, and 2.47-times adjusted interest coverage for 2025. Investors are paying for long-life maritime real estate and access to trade, but a large portion of the operating cash flow must support financing and capital projects before reaching shareholders.
One controlling interest, four major investor groups
OMERS: 30.0%
Federated Hermes/Anchorage: 6.12%
Continuing stakes are described in ABP’s 2025 ownership disclosures, subject to rounding. IFM is buying the combined Canadian holdings; ABP’s operating assets do not themselves change hands individually. [1][5]
The most valuable asset may be the revenue contract
Contractually supported revenue
Property rent, fixed customer fees and minimum-volume guarantees provide a predictable floor. The remaining 48.3% is not all spot-volume revenue: it includes statutory harbour income, utilities and service lines. That difference matters when building a downturn model.
2025 consolidated EBITDA margin
ABP describes itself primarily as a landlord port owner rather than an operator of every terminal activity. The contract and land component reduces direct operating exposure compared with a wholly stevedoring-led model.
Rounded 2025 management revenue-category percentages sum to 100%; the precise 51.7% guaranteed classification is not necessarily equal to the rounded 19% + 8% + 25% bars. ABP investor presentation, May 2026. [3]
£10 billion of what: equity or enterprise value?
If £10B means enterprise value
£10.0bn divided by reported £473.7m 2025 consolidated EBITDA. Subtracting £3.016bn of reported consolidated net borrowings yields an indicative £6.984bn equity bridge and a mathematical 63.9% interest of £4.463bn, before any deal adjustments.
If £10B means equity value
Adding £3.016bn of net borrowings produces an illustrative £13.016bn enterprise value. Then 63.9% of equity is £6.390bn. Neither case is a confirmed price, and financing perimeter, pension obligations and swaps can alter the bridge.
The debt and reinvestment test
| Measure | 2025 reported | 2024 reported | Meaning for buyer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Group revenue | £819.8m | £783.5m | +4.6% even with declining bulk tonnage |
| Consolidated EBITDA | £473.7m | £430.1m | +10.1%; 57.8% margin |
| Bulk cargo | 42.5m tonnes | 43.8m tonnes | −3.0% physical volumes |
| Capital expenditure | £177.7m | £234.3m | Timing matters: project deferrals lowered 2025 spend |
| Consolidated net borrowings | £3,016.3m | £2,694.1m | 6.37× vs 6.26× covenant EBITDA |
| Interest coverage | 2.47× | 2.48× | Based on adjusted covenant EBITDA, not unadjusted EBITDA |
| Financial protection | 87% fixed debt exposure after derivatives | Not directly compared | Helps buffer immediate rate movements; debt still matures |
The data refer to the ABPA Holdings financing/group perimeter in ABP’s May 2026 investor update, not the standalone statutory accounts of Associated British Ports. EBITDA in the 6.37× ratio is the disclosed covenant measure; adjusted EBITDA is used for the published 2.47× interest-coverage covenant. [3]
Ports are long-lived; their cranes, quays and debt are not free
What happens if the unguaranteed revenue weakens?
Scenario convention: 48.3% of £819.8m revenue is used as a conservative-to-simplify stress-test basket, not as a claim that 48.3% is fully volume-sensitive. Conversion of a revenue change into EBITDA at 70% is hypothetical. The forecast is not ABP guidance.
Change the valuation assumption and see where the economics move
Port infrastructure valuation stress test
Choose whether the reported £10bn is treated as enterprise value or equity value. Change EBITDA, borrowings, merchant-revenue pressure and financing costs. Outputs are illustrative and do not disclose IFM’s actual purchase consideration.
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