Maersk Group’s APM Terminals (APMT) will become a major stakeholder in 11 container terminals in Europe and Latin America after agreeing to buy the shares of a big Spanish port operator. The deal will effectively expand APMT’s port network by almost 20% with facilities in Spain, Turkey, Guatemala, Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil.
In a statement, APMT said it has reached an agreement with Perez y Cia to acquire their majority stake in the Barcelona-based Grup Maritim TCB and their maritime services’ container terminal portfolio in Europe and Latin America.
The buyout represents one of the biggest acquisitions in APMT’s history, and the 11 acquired terminals add 4.3 million TEUs in capacity and 3.5 million TEUs in estimated annual container volumes to APM Terminals’ portfolio.
The transaction is expected to close by the end of the year, subject to relevant approvals. The buyout price was not disclosed, but reports said it was “in the hundreds of millions of dollars.”
Grup Maritim TCB consists of Spanish container terminal concessions in Barcelona, Valencia, and Castellon on the Mediterranean coast, along with the concessions in Gijon, on the Bay of Biscay, and in the Canary Islands: Santa Cruz on Tenerife and La Palma on Gran Canaria.
Outside of Spain, Grup Maritim TCB’s terminal operations include Izmir, Turkey; Yucatan, Mexico; Quetzal, Guatemala (under construction, opening 2016); Buenaventura, Colombia, on the Pacific Coast; and Paranagua, Brazil.
APM Terminals CEO Kim Fejfer said the investment “adds complementary locations to our portfolio in high growth markets throughout Latin America, in Turkey and a strong gateway presence in Spain.”
Grup Maritim TCB’s terminal businesses date back to 1972 when the company was first established by the Perez-Maura family in Barcelona. Its equity-weighted container volume of 2 million TEUs ranked 23rd among global terminal operators in 2014, while APM Terminals ranked third with 38.3 million TEUs.
Joe Nicklaus Nielsen, APM Terminals vice president and global head of container port business development, negotiated the deal that “enables us to effectively expand our reach in six countries, enhance our portfolio and achieve our growth goals.”
This latest portfolio expansion of the APMT global terminal network increases the number of its operating facilities from 63 to 74 in 40 countries across five continents.
Nils S. Andersen, CEO of Maersk Group, said that with the purchase, the group is carrying on its strategy to invest in growth through the business cycle.
“With its robust financial performance and balance sheet, the Group is in a strong position to make investments of this kind in volatile markets and pursue growth opportunities—both organically and by acquisition,” he added.
“The acquisition supports our growth plans and value proposition towards APM Terminals’ wide range of customers in Europe and Latin America,” said Andersen.
Latin America has been a strategic focus of the Maersk Group for some time and it has many investments in the region. The most recent example is the joint-venture multipurpose terminal in Cartegena, Colombia.
