[THE INVESTOR] A consortium of global investors including South Korea’s National Pension Service have agreed to acquire the Port of Melbourne for AU$9.7 billion (US$7.32 billion).

The NPS, which oversees $430 billion in assets, invested over AU$500 million into Australia’s busiest port for containerized and general cargo.

The consortium is led by Queensland Investment Corporation, the Future Fund and Global Infrastructure Partners. 

The Korean pension fund established a joint fund with other institutional investors including QIC to invest in infrastructure that the Australian government has sought to privatize.

The finalized price for the 50-year lease of the port includes a 15-year prepayment of an $80m-a-year license fee.

By Park Han-na (hnpark@heraldcorp.com)