DP World receives equity injection offer
The parent company of terminal operator DP World is in talks to sell a stake in the company to equity investors, according to reports out of the Middle East over the weekend.
“DP World has been informed by its ultimate majority shareholder Dubai World that (it) has received an approach from, and is engaged in discussions with, a regional private equity firm which may or may not result in a transaction,” the port operator said in a statement on the Nasdaq Dubai.
The Dubai-based company has been on an aggressive expansion spree over the past few years, establishing strongholds in every region except for North America — where it was famously forced to sell its U.S. terminal assets after it acquired P&O Ports. The cash injection, analysts have speculated, would give DP World liquidity in a market where there are bargains to be had.
Volume through DP World’s terminals was down 8 percent in the first two months of 2009, and with no recovery in sight, executives said they were reining in all new projects to conserve cash. The company did not say whether it intends to accept the equity offer.
