Adani Ports eyeing lion's share in UK's largest ports operator? Here is what the company said

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) on Wednesday responded to claims that it was eyeing a large stake in Associated British Ports (ABP), the United Kingdom's largest ports operator.

The target for the Adani Group company is said to be a controlling stake of more than 60 per cent in ABP, which manages 21 bustling ports in the UK, such as Southampton, which is the nation's biggest export port, Immingham, which is the UK's biggest in terms of tonnage, and Humber.

The stake purchase would be a major push for APSEZ, which plans to become the world's biggest transport utility by 2031, an ET Infra report said.

Adani Ports later responded to reports claiming it was eyeing the lion's share in ABP, neither confirming nor denying the claim.

"The Company continuously evaluates opportunities that align with our long-term strategy and create sustainable value for all stakeholders," it said in a filing, pointing out that APSEZ does not comment on "market speculation or rumours".

"There is no information which has not been announced to the stock exchanges and which should have been announced by the Company in terms of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015," it added.

This comes after two Canadian pension funds hired bankers to sell their stakes in the ABP. These are the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), which holds a 34 per cent stake, and the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS), which holds a 33 per cent stake, as per a Financial Times report.

The other shareholders include Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC, Kuwait Investment Authority-owned Wren House Infrastructure, and Anchorage Ports LLP, a subsidiary of Hermes Infrastructure Fund.

Why ABP?

Privately held by pension and sovereign wealth funds since 1982, ABP grew to handle about a quarter of the UK’s seaborne trade.

In 2025, its 21 ports handled 42.5 million metric tonnes (MMT) of bulk cargo and 3.1 million units of unitised cargo such as containers and more, generating a revenue of £819.8 million (about ₹91,000 crore) at an operating profit of £586.5 million (about ₹65,000 crore).

It also provides operations and maintenance (O&M) for over 50 per cent of the offshore wind sector's activities.

Notably, a large part of ABP’s revenue comes from customer contracts that generate a guaranteed level of revenue, irrespective of traffic or volumes.

Another important factor that could have drawn APSEZ to the ABP is that the latter is the statutory harbour and river authority for most of its ports. This helps it earn a great deal of revenue from pilotage and conservancy services.

How does Adani Ports compare?

APSEZ is already India's largest ports operator, managing a portfolio of 15 ports that can handle about 653 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of cargo. This includes Mundra, which is one of India's largest commercial ports, and Vizhinjam, which is one of India's fastest-growing transshipment ports.

Apart from this, it can also handle an additional 144 MTPA across the four international ports/facilities it operates—Haifa (Israel), Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), Colombo West International Terminal (Sri Lanka) and the North Queensland Export Terminal (Australia).

In FY 2025-26, it already achieved a record cargo throughput of 500.8 MTPA—which reflects a 11 per cent YoY jump from the previous fiscal—and reported revenue at ₹38,736 crore and EBITDA at ₹22,851 crore.

This is part of the port operator's ambitious future plans—to handle one billion tonnes per annum by 2030 and to boost its role in offshore marine services through its subsidiaries.