Apollo, KKR and IFM Investors advance to final round in AB Ports stake sale

Apollo Global Management (APO), KKR & Co. (KKR) and IFM Investors have advanced to the final round of bidding for a majority stake in AB Ports, the UK's biggest port operator, according to reports on August 25, 2026, citing Bloomberg. The stake on offer is a combined 64% holding owned by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Omers Administration Corp, at a target valuation of approximately £10 billion, or about $13.6 billion.

The size of the deal underscores AB Ports' position as critical national infrastructure: the operator runs 21 facilities across England, Scotland and Wales and handles roughly 25% of the UK's seaborne trade. The port group was taken private in 2006, and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Omers have held their stakes since that original consortium. That two of the world's largest private equity firms, Apollo and KKR, are competing alongside specialist infrastructure investor IFM suggests continued appetite for long-term, cash-generative transport assets even as financing costs have risen.

The finalist pool has shifted notably since the sale process first became public. In April 2026, the reported interested parties were KKR, BlackRock's Global Infrastructure Partners, Brookfield Asset Management and DP World. By the August update, Apollo and IFM Investors had entered the process while GIP, Brookfield and DP World were no longer named among the finalists.

The bidding process remains ongoing and there is no guarantee a transaction will close. Investors should watch for confirmation of a preferred bidder, the final price relative to the roughly £10 billion target, and whether the eventual buyer takes on the leverage typical of infrastructure deals of this size, which could be a test of whether that financing math still works in the current rate environment.

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