N.Y.-N.J./Port authority approval of OOIL sale still pending

N.Y.-N.J./Port authority approval of OOIL sale still pending Lost in the attention over the politically sensitive Dubai Ports World sale to AIG is the fact that the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has yet to approve the sale of the New York Container Terminal to the Ontario Teacher’s Pension Plan.
   The retirement fund agreed in November to acquire the New York terminal and Global Terminal in New Jersey, along with two terminals in the Canadian port of Vancouver, from Orient Overseas International Ltd. for $2.4 billion. OOIL is the Hong Kong-based parent company of container shipping line OOCL.
   Global Terminal, located adjacent to the port authority's auto marine terminal In Jersey City, is privately owned and operated and did not require port authority approval to conclude its sale.
   The port authority is still in negotiations with OOIL and the Ontario Teacher's fund, spokesman Steve Coleman said. Unclear is how much of an extraction premium the bi-state agency will seek to let the deal go forward.
   'Given that these are two firms that have not previously been terminal operators or in the maritime business, we'd obviously handle these negotiations in a similar fashion,' he said, referring to insurance group AIG and the Canadian pension plan. He declined to discuss any specific compensation figures.
   The Ontario Teacher's fund paid 22 times its pre-tax earnings for the OOIL terminals, a staggering figure considering that many strong companies trade in the range of eight to 10 times earnings. The OOIL deal breaks down to $500 million to $1 billion per terminal on a pro rata basis.
   The Ontario Teacher's fund completed the acquisition of Global Terminal, and the Deltaport and Vanterm terminals in Vancouver, in early January. The purchase of the New York Container Terminal on Staten Island is expected to be completed before mid-year, it said in a statement at the time.