The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan has partnered with Australia’s Victorian Funds Management Corp.—whose CIO is Leo de Bever—to buy an interest in Birmingham International Airport for $918 million.
They are buying the 48.25% interest from Australia’s Macquarie Airports Group and Aer Rianta International, a subsidiary company of the Dublin Airport Authority.
“This investment offers stable and attractive long-term returns that will help us pay pensions to the teachers of Ontario,” says Jim Leech, senior vice-president, Teachers’ Private Capital.
Birmingham International Airport, the fifth largest airport in the U.K., handles more than nine million passengers a year through two terminals, and acts as a gateway to Europe, North America, India and the Middle East.
On Tuesday, Teachers’ announced it would acquire interests in two water supply, distribution and wastewater services companies in central Chile. And last week, the plan opened a London office to gain improved access to European and international private equity opportunities.
“As long-term public sector asset managers, we believe that Teachers’ and ourselves are uniquely well suited to a long-term partnership with the district shareholders,” says de Bever, who joined Victorian Funds Management last year after spending two years with MFC Global Investment Management. He previously worked at Teachers’ for a decade.
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