Court denies NYK’s bid control to Ceres terminal in Amterdam

Court denies NYK’s bid control to Ceres terminal in Amterdam    The District Court of Amsterdam Thursday denied NYK, the 50-percent owner of the Ceres container terminal in Amsterdam, the right to buy the shares controlled by Christos N. Kritikos, the former chief executive officer of the Ceres group.
   The Dutch court ruled that NYK could not purchase earlier than agreed the 50-percent shareholding owned by Kritikos’ CNK Trust.
   “A dispute between the shareholders regarding the funding of the development of the Ceres Container Terminals Europe prompted NYK to approach the District Court in Amsterdam in an attempt to resolve the situation,” NYK said in a statement.
   In 2002, the CNK Trust granted NYK a call option on its shares in Ceres Container Terminals Europe. NYK argued that there were legitimate grounds for accelerating the timing of this call option in view of the current exceptional circumstances of the company.
   NYK said it is “investigating possible options in the light of this decision by the court, including going to appeal.”