The five-runway airfield also hosts malls and a business park (Image: Moorabbin Airport)
Australia’s competition regulator has opened a review of a proposed acquisition of Melbourne’s Moorabbin Airport by a consortium led by US asset manager Barings, as owner Goodman Group looks to continue recycling capital from stabilised assets.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is assessing the bid for the five-runway general aviation airport, which also comprises the Kingston Central Plaza mall, the Chifley Business Park and a factory outlet centre. The transaction involves a newly formed vehicle acquiring 100 percent of the shares in Moorabbin Airport Corporation, which holds the long-term lease for the airfield in the southern suburbs.
The consortium includes Barings, a unit of US insurer MassMutual, alongside pension giants Aware Super and Rest Super, with Goodman set to reduce its 100 percent stake while retaining a minority interest. The deal values the airport at A$1.5 billion ($1.1 billion), according to local media accounts.
“The investors, excluding Goodman, also hold interests in other airports, which either focus on different primary operations to Moorabbin Airport (that is, they are focused on regular passenger transport rather than general aviation services) or offer general aviation services outside of Victoria,” the ACCC said. A Barings-Aware venture owns two Sydney general aviation airports, while Rest Super holds stakes in Melbourne’s main airport and Tasmania’s second busiest.
More Than Aviation
The regulator is seeking market feedback on whether the acquisition could lessen competition, inviting submissions from industry participants and stakeholders, according to a questionnaire circulated as part of the review.
Barings Asia Pacific head Alastair Wright
Opened in 1949, Moorabbin Airport sits 21 kilometres (13 miles) southeast of Melbourne’s central business district. It supports flight training, private charter services, freight operations, recreational flying and emergency services, with limited scheduled passenger traffic via a daily service to Tasmania’s King Island.
The airport hosts more than 250 aviation and commercial tenants. Much of its value stems from its mixed-use property component, with ASX-listed Goodman developing industrial and commercial assets since acquiring the site from the Goodman family in 2011 for A$201.5 million.
The proposed acquisition includes leasehold interests in non-aviation properties, highlighting the asset’s dual role as infrastructure and real estate platform. The ACCC is expected to examine overlaps in airport services and commercial property ownership.
Partnership Deepens
Barings, which manages $481 billion in assets globally, has been expanding its Australia real estate footprint since acquiring Altis Property Partners in 2022, with former Altis executive Alastair Wright now leading its Asia Pacific business.
In 2015, Altis and Aware Super (then known as First State Super) acquired Sydney’s Bankstown and Camden airports for a reported A$203 million. More recently, Barings and Aware Super partnered on a A$600 million Melbourne industrial estate acquisition and a A$180 million Sydney shopping centre purchase, while launching a A$2 billion build-to-rent platform.
Rest Super has also teamed with Barings, breaking ground two years ago on a A$400 million industrial estate serving Sydney’s southwestern corridor.
Goodman last year sold a Sydney industrial estate to Barings for A$75 million and earlier this year divested a pair of Sydney warehouses to Aliro Group for A$438 million in Australia’s biggest logistics deal of 2026 so far.
At the same time, the builder has been acquiring new development sites, including land at the future Western Sydney Airport for A$575 million, and expanding its data centre pipeline amid rising demand for digital infrastructure.
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