Fairfax, OMERS to extend IPO timeline of Bangalore airport holding company

Prem Watsa’s Fairfax Financial Holdings and OMERS have mutually decided to extend by 12 months the timeline for launching an initial public offering (IPO) of the holding company operating the international airport in Bengaluru.

Both are co-investors in Anchorage Infrastructure, which owns 43.6% of the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru.

Fairfax also directly holds a 30.4% stake in the airport, making it the controlling shareholder. It has pegged the airport value at $3 billion in its books. The remaining stake is held by the Airports Authority of India and Karnataka State Industrial & Infrastructure Development Corp.

OMERS or the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System has an agreement whereby Fairfax committed to an IPO of Anchorage Infrastructure by September 2025. OMERS had invested in Anchorage in September 2021 and currently owns a 11.5% stake. An IPO will provide a path for it to monetise the investment.

“During the year, Fairfax India and OMERS agreed to extend the IPO long-stop date by one year to September 16, 2026,” according to the annual report of Fairfax India Holdings Corporation issued on 6 March.

Fairfax India is controlled by Fairfax Financial Holdings.
Hyderabad-born Watsa, 75, migrated to Canada in 1972. He now presides over a corporation with insurance businesses across continents, and an investment portfolio that has grown substantially over the past four decades since Fairfax Financial was incorporated. Watsa is currently chairman and chief executive officer of the global parent company with assets totalling more than $100 billion.Fairfax Financial’s investments in India are pegged at $7 billion.

ET first reported on December 12 that Fairfax has emerged as the frontrunner to buy IDBI Bank.

“As I have mentioned in last year’s annual report, Fairfax India’s intrinsic value is much higher than book value mainly because of its 74% interest in Bangalore International Airport,” Watsa said in a separate letter to shareholders of Fairfax Financial. “Fairfax India intends to complete an IPO of Anchorage and we are still in the process of obtaining regulatory approvals”.

Fairfax Financial reported record profit of $4.8 billion in 2025.

Among the new investments listed in Watsa’s letter to shareholders is a 22% stake in New York-listed athleisure company Under Armour Inc.