Airport Group Investments Ltd. (AGIL), a limited company owned by the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (Teachers’) and Victorian Funds Management Corp. (VFMC), has entered into a conditional agreement to acquire a 48.25% interest in Birmingham International Airport for £420 million ($918 million).

AGIL has agreed to acquire the shares indirectly and directly from Australia’s Macquarie Airports Group Ltd. and Aer Rianta International c.p.t, a subsidiary company of the Dublin Airport Authority.

Birmingham International Airport, the fifth largest airport in the UK, 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.

West Midlands Districts Council (the Districts), which represents seven metropolitan areas in the airport’s vicinity, owns a 49% interest in the airport and has pre-emption rights to the shares being sold by Macquarie and Aer Rianta. If the right is not exercised within 90 days, AGIL can close the transaction.

The Districts will retain their 49% interest in Birmingham airport, while airport staff, through an employee share trust, will continue to hold the remaining 2.75%.

“This investment offers stable and attractive long-term returns that will help us pay pensions to the teachers of Ontario,” says Jim Leech, senior vp, Teachers’ Private Capital.

“We look forward to working with VFMC, the district co-shareholders and other stakeholders to support the continued development and growth of the airport over the coming decades.”

Leech notes that a new runway extension, targeted for completion by 2012, will extend Birmingham’s reach to international destinations.


AGIL was formed by Teachers’ and VFMC to hold their investment in Birmingham Airport. Teachers’ owns 60.1% of AGIL, while VFMC owns 39.9%.

The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan is one of the largest public pension plans in Canada with $106 billion in net assets.

VFMC is based in Melbourne, Australia, and manages investments on behalf of Victorian Government entities, including pension funds, insurance funds and endowments for hospitals and universities within Victoria.