Port of Brisbane goes for $2.3 billion

The new consortium will also fund a future upgrade of a section of the port’s motorway for a further A$200 million ($200 million), taking the whole deal value to $2.3 billion. Queensland Treasurer Andrew Fraser said in a statement that, “the signing of the deal represents A$2.3 billion worth of value to the Queensland taxpayer with the future development of the port now the responsibility of a quality consortium.”

Australian interests own a working majority in the overall holding structure – a fact that the Port of Brisbane was keen to emphasize. “Through these funds, more than a million Queenslanders, in addition to other Australian superannuation fund members, will become investors in the Port of Brisbane,” it stated publicly. IFM likewise emphasized its own Australian super investor base in its public statements on the deal. A source at IFM confirmed to AVCJ that the holding structure gives 27% each to IFM, QIC and GIP, with ADIA holding the remaining 19%.

The Port of Brisbane itself described the Q Port consortium as “four of the largest and most experienced infrastructure investors in the world,” bringing “substantial industry and operating expertise and financial capacity.”

The bid was backed by c. A$1.25 billion ($1.25 billion) of debt from lenders including ANZ, BBV, BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole CIB, National Australia Bank, Natixis, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and WestLB. RBS and Merrill Lynch acted as advisor to the Queensland government.

The 99-year profile of the investment attracted some surprise, but the direct involvement of institutional investors in the deal suggests that seriously long-term capital is increasingly seeking such opportunities.

“There is a huge space for long term capital in infrastructure,” Philip Jackson, MD for Asia Infrastructure Investments at JPMorgan Asset Management, noted at the recent AVCJ Forum. Other infrastructure professionals also emphasized the opportunity for investors working from a private equity structure to repackage and sell infrastructure to “long-term LPs who are looking for steady returns,” potentially as part of a co-investment.

The deal also highlighted the increasing role of leading institutional investors as direct investors in major assets, with investors such as Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Ontario Teachers Pension Plan already frequent participants in Australian infrastructure. 

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