COSCO Ports to acquire majority stake in Spanish terminal operator

The port operator subsidiary of Chinese conglomerate COSCO Shipping signed a $228 million deal to acquire 51 percent of shares in Noatum Port Holdings, giving the Asian shipping line access to Mediterranean and European networks.    COSCO Shipping Ports Ltd., the port terminal operator arm of Chinese conglomerate COSCO Shipping, and TPIH have agreed to purchase 51 percent of shares in Noatum Port Holdings, amounting to 203.5 million euros (U.S. $228 million) in total, the company said in a statement.
   Major assets of Noatum Port Holdings included in the share acquisition include two container terminals, NCTV and NCTB, and two rail terminals, Conterail Madrid and NRTZ Zaragoza.
   Once the agreement is completed, COSCO Shipping will have a controlling interest in Noatum Port Holdings, thus extending its network further in the Mediterranean and European areas, said the company.
   In the initial press release, COSCO Shipping said the acquisition will enable it to pursue “its stated strategies of ‘developing a global terminals portfolio,’ ‘strengthening control and management of the ports and terminals business,’ and ‘bringing into full play the synergies with the container fleets of China COSCO Shipping Corporation Limited (COSCO SHIPPING), the ultimate controlling company of the company, and OCEAN Alliance.'”
   According to COSCO Shipping, “NCTV is the biggest container terminal with stable volume and business in the Port of Valencia,” with the 350-kilometer area surrounding the port accounting for nearly 50 percent of Spanish GDP. The Mediterranean port acts as the main gateway for the Iberian Peninsula, said the company.
   NCTB is the sole container terminal in the Port of Bilbao and serves as a gateway for the Iberian Peninsula as well as southwestern France, said COSCO.
   The two rail assets in which COSCO Shipping will acquire a majority stake also cater to the ports of Valencia and Bilbao. Of the two, “NRTZ Zaragoza is located in one of the biggest rail logistic centers of the Iberian Peninsula, and is one of the most important intermodal rail hubs of the Spanish general public rail network,” the company said.
   Since April 2017, OCEAN Alliance, of which COSCO is a member along with CMA CGM, Evergreen Line and OOCL, has begun to switch from other terminals to NCTV and has started a feeder service in NCTB, said COSCO Shipping.