A.P. Moller Capital is expanding its international ports portfolio through agreements to buy Singapore-based Portek International and a majority stake in Euroports, adding exposure to container terminals and the infrastructure that moves Europe’s industrial and agricultural commodities.
The infrastructure investment manager and sister company to the Danish liner operator agreed on October 15 to acquire 100% of Portek from Japan’s Mitsui & Co. through its Emerging Markets Infrastructure Fund II. The announcement came less than three weeks after its September 28 agreement to acquire control of Euroports through a separately managed investment vehicle.
Financial terms were not disclosed. Both transactions remain subject to closing conditions and approvals.
The acquisitions extend A.P. Moller Capital’s strategy of investing in essential trade infrastructure, broadening its exposure to the terminals and logistics networks that move industrial and agricultural commodities as well as containers. Euroports strengthens its European bulk and breakbulk presence, while Portek adds a geographically dispersed terminal network across Africa, Asia and Europe.
The agreements follow A.P. Moller Capital’s investment in Spanish port and logistics operator Berge, extending a portfolio assembled through stakes in established operating companies.
Portek has interests in seven terminals across Africa, Asia and Europe, giving A.P. Moller Capital additional exposure to container, vehicle and multipurpose cargo operations. Its portfolio spans Algeria, Gabon, Indonesia, Latvia, Malta and Vietnam, alongside port engineering and maintenance services.
“Portek is a strong fit with our investment strategy and active owner philosophy,” Semih Gokmen, a partner at A.P. Moller Capital, said in the acquisition announcement. “It is an established business with a diversified portfolio of port operations serving important trade flows across three continents, supported by experienced local operating teams.”
The Euroports transaction would bring majority ownership of a network of more than 50 deep-sea and inland terminals across 10 European countries and China. The business handles more than 70 million metric tons annually, in the bulk and breakbulk supply chains serving agriculture, manufacturing and other industries.
Its network includes operations in Belgium’s Antwerp-Bruges, Rostock, Germany; Venice, Italy, and Port-la-Nouvelle in France.
The A.P. Moller group’s main U.S. port interests are through Maersk’s APM Terminals, whose network includes four operating container terminals in Los Angeles, Elizabeth, N.J., Mobile, Ala.,, and Miami.
APM Terminals also announced an initial $500 million investment commitment for the development at Louisiana Gateway Port.
Belgian investment institutions SFPIM and PMV will remain shareholders in Euroports. The incoming ownership group plans to support management’s expansion of the company’s activities, geographic footprint and customer base while retaining its existing governance framework and strategic direction.
“In a changing world, resilient supply chains and secure trade flows are increasingly essential to economic stability and growth,” A.P. Moller Capital chief executive Kim Fejfer said when announcing the Euroports agreement. He described the company’s infrastructure as underpinning European industry, food systems and manufacturing.
Why it matters: The deals would put an extensive network of trade infrastructure under Moller investment management, representing a substantial expansion in the footprint behind global trade.
Read more articles by Stuart Chirls here.
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