Apollo Global Management, KKR and IFM Investors have advanced to the final round of bidding for a majority stake in AB Ports, the UK's largest port operator, according to Bloomberg reporting on August 25.
The three firms are competing to acquire a controlling interest in the publicly traded ports group, which operates 21 locations across Britain and handles roughly one-third of the country's container traffic. The sale process marks one of the largest infrastructure transactions in the UK in recent years, with bidders expected to value the company in the low-to-mid billions of pounds.
AB Ports is owned by a consortium that includes the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, Hermes Infrastructure and Macquarie. The consortium initiated the sale process in 2025 after receiving interest from large-ticket infrastructure investors seeking long-duration assets with stable cash flows. Port operators have attracted capital from private equity and pension funds over the past three years as inflation hedges and inflation-adjusted fee structures became more common in concession agreements across developed markets.
Apollo and KKR have both made infrastructure acquisitions of this scale before. Apollo closed its $8.8 billion purchase of Vantiv's payment processing unit in 2024 and has been actively deploying capital across ports, energy and transportation assets. KKR acquired a 55 percent stake in Sensormatic Electronics in 2021 and has been expanding its infrastructure portfolio through its Global Infrastructure Partners affiliate. IFM Investors, the infrastructure fund managed by Australian pension funds' collective investment vehicle, holds port assets in Australia and has been seeking UK entry points.
The shortlisting of three bidders from an initial process that drew interest from over a dozen parties narrows the field ahead of final bids expected by year-end 2026. AB Ports generated operating revenues of 335 million pounds in 2025, according to its latest available figures, and is expected to produce margins of 55 to 60 percent on an EBITDA basis before transaction costs.
The process unfolds against a backdrop of heightened M&A activity in UK infrastructure, with pension funds and long-term capital providers competing aggressively for ports, utilities and transport networks yielding regulated or inflation-linked returns. Infrastructure valuations in the UK have compressed modestly from 2024 peaks but remain at levels that reflect extended hold periods and refinancing risk in bidders' models.
Final bids from the three finalists will determine whether the controlling stake changes hands by the first half of 2027. AB Ports has said it expects to complete a transaction within 18 months of launching the sale process, which would place closure by mid-2026 if the timeline holds.
