Brisbane port sold for $2.1bn

The Queensland government announced it had sold a 99-year lease over the port to a consortium made up of Industry Funds Management, Global Infrastructure Partners, QIC and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.

IFM, GIP and QIC each hold about 27 per cent of the successful bidder, the Q Port Holdings Consortium, with the ADIA holding the remaining 19 per cent.

"It's a good consortium a good mix of experience and financial capacity and port experience," Industry Funds Management chief executive Brett Himbury said.

IFM, which is the second-largest infrastructure investor in the world with about $8 billion invested in the sector, acts on behalf of Australian industry super funds.

"Our clients have a strong view on the worth of infrastructure and a strong capacity to back that view with capital," Mr Himbury said.

"So we, IFM, are in a really good position to take advantage of good-quality infrastructure assets should they come up."

The port will be tipped into IFM's Australian infrastructure fund, which has returned about 12 per cent a year after tax.

"It's positioned to take advantage of what we see as the ongoing strong growth of the Queensland economy," Mr Himbury said.

Under the deal, Q Port Holdings has agreed to spend an additional $200 million upgrading the Port of Brisbane motorway and Mr Himbury said the consortium would continue to invest in the port.

The state government estimates infrastructure expansion at the port will cost up to $1 billion.

Treasurer Andrew Fraser confirmed there had been only two bidders for the port, which had originally been on sale with an asking price of more than $3 billion.

Negotiations had been tough, Mr Fraser said.

"It's been a pretty gruesome process but in the end it's a good outcome for taxpayers," he said.

IFM's partners in the consortium are a multinational infrastructure investment specialist and two state-owned entities.

Founded by Credit Suisse and GE, Global Infrastructure Partners owns assets including Californian wind and solar power, Gatwick Airport and British garbage collection group Biffa.

QIC, which is investing through its $2.6 billion QIC Global Infrastructure fund, is wholly owned by the Queensland government while the ADIA is owned by the government of Abu Dhabi.

The privatisation of the port is part of a program of asset sales, including the float of QR National, that the Bligh government hopes will raise $15 billion.

Q Port Holdings beat a consortium made up of Morgan Stanley and UniSuper.

Final bid submissions closed at the end of last month, with two full bids lodged after Indian group Adani decided not to participate.