GLOBAL port operator International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) has agreed to sell 25% of its shareholdings in its Nigerian port to CMA Terminals, a member of the Marseille-based CMA-CGM Group.
ICTSI said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange that its subsidiary ICTSI Capital B.V. sold 25% of its shareholding, or 25,000 shares, in Lekki International Container Terminal Services LFTZ Enterprise (LICTSLE) to CMA Terminals for US$25,000, or $1 per share.
CMA Terminals will also pay 25% of LICTSLE’s total debts and accrued expenses, according to the deal.
The joint venture “is expected to further improve the viability of the project in the Lagos Free Trade Zone at Ibeju Lekki in Lagos State, Nigeria and “positively contribute to the financial performance of the company in the future,” ICTSI said.
“Having the third-largest container shipping company in the world as a partner in the project is expected to help accelerate the volume ramp-up of the company’s greenfield project in the early years of its operation and establish a more stable core throughput for LICTSLE in the long run,” the port operator added.
In March 2012, ICTSI and Lekki Port LFTZ Enterprise signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the operation of Tolaram Port@Lekki in Lagos, Nigeria.
The MOU covers a period of 21 years from development to full operation.
The Tolaram Group is the main investor in the port and free trade zone development. On the other hand, ICTSI, through LICTSLE, is the exclusive developer and operator of the port, which will come on stream in 2016. –– Roumina M. Pablo
Photo courtesy of www.cma-cgm.com/the-group/activities/shipping/terminals
