The EUR 80 bn Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan has expanded the airport element of its infrastructure portfolio by taking large stakes in two European airports.

The pension fund asset manager is receiving a 39% interest in Brussels Airport and 30% of Copenhagen Airport in a swap deal with Sydney-listed private airport owner MAp. In return MAp is acquiring the pension fund's 11% stake in Sydney Airport plus an unspecified cash payment. The transaction is expected to close in 2011, subject to regulatory approvals.

The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan already owns a 48.25% stake - with a partner - in Birmingham International Airport. Birmingham is the sixth largest airport in the UK and has more than nine million passengers annually. The fund's stake in Bristol International Airport was about 49% at end-2010.

The largest single-profession pension plan in Canada, The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan invests the pension fund assets and administers the pensions of 295,000 active and retired teachers in Ontario.