The C$125.8 billion ($93.2 billion) Canada’s Public Sector Pension Investment Board has partnered with Mexican airport operator Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste to buy Oaktree Capital Management’s 50 percent stake in Aerostar Airport Holdings in a $430 million deal.
PSP Investments acquired a 40 percent interest in Aerostar while ASUR, already a 50 percent shareholder in Aerostar, acquired an additional 10 percent, consolidating its total interest to 60 percent. ASUR is the first privatized airport group in Mexico, and operator of Cancun Airport and eight other airports in southeast Mexico.
“Our goal is to strengthen the operational quality and service level of the San Juan Airport, further supporting the continued economic development and potential of the San Juan area,” said Holger Linkweiler, managing director at AviAlliance.
“As a value-added infrastructure investor, we always seek to create sustainable, long-term organizations that can thrive well beyond our ownership,” added Emmett McCann, co-portfolio manager of Oaktree’s Infrastructure Investing strategy, specializing in the transportation sector.
The transaction received all required regulatory approvals.
Aerostar has been the operator of the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, since Feb. 27, 2013. The Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport is the largest and busiest airport in the Caribbean, welcoming approximately 9 million passengers in 2016. It serves the capital of Puerto Rico and represents the island’s primary gateway for international and mainland-U.S. destinations.