ACCC Investigates $1.5bn Moorabbin Airport Acquisition
The sale of a metropolitan airport in Melbourne’s south is being reviewed by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
The ACCC announced it is currently assessing the acquisition of Moorabbin Airport, predominantly a light aircraft and training airport 28km south-east of Melbourne CBD.
A group of investors including Australian superannuation funds REST and AwareSuper—which have combined nearly $300 billion in funds under management—want to buy Moorabbin Airport, which has been operating as a flight facility since 1949.
But they are not taking it on alone. The super funds have teamed up with MassMutual, a life insurance company based in Massachusetts in the United States, of which Barings is its Australian subsidiary, following the acquisition of Altis Property Partners in 2022.
The deal values the airport, which sits on 249ha of land, at around $1.5 billion.
The group wants to acquire 100 per cent of the shares in Moorabbin Airport Corporation (MAC) through a holding company, as well as non-aviation commercial properties on the airport site.
MAC holds the long-term airport lease granted by the government to the metropolitan Moorabbin Airport, south-east of the Melbourne CBD.
ASX-listed Goodman Group owns 100 per cent of the units in the Moorabbin Airport Unit Trust, and therefore owns the entirety of MAC, so the acquisition results in a reduction of Goodman’s interest in the airport.
The ACCC said it was assessing the impact of the acquisition on competition and is seeking submissions on the issue.
Submissions should be made by April 28, 2026, although submissions made subsequent to this date might also be considered.
Moorabbin Airport operates general aviation activities including flight training, private air charter, recreational flying and emergency services.
It has only one regular passenger service, with King Island Airlines flying between King Island in the Bass Strait and the mainland.
The airport also has 250 mixed-use businesses on site, including the Kingston Central Plaza, Direct Factory Outlet and the Chifley Business Park.
The investors have interests in other airports as well as industrial land across Melbourne. Rest Super has small stakes in the Australia Pacific Airports Corporation, which owns Melbourne and Launceston airports.
Aware Super owns and operates Bankstown and Camden airports through the subsidiary, Aeria Management Group (formerly Sydney Metro Airports), which it acquired in 2015.
The ACCC’s decision on the $1.5 billion deal will be announced in June 2026.
Moorabbin Airport is the home of the region’s first mass-timber warehouse, which Goodman started work on in 2024, and is subject to a new masterplan which was approved in 2023.
