MSC’s terminals sale makes sense for both sides, says Drewry analyst

   The top port analyst at London-based consultancy Drewry said Monday a deal announced last week in which the liner carrier Mediterranean Shipping Co. will sell a 35-percent stake in its terminals business to the New York-based private equity group Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) makes sense for both sides.
   The deal, worth $1.9 billion, gives GIP a sizable share in MSC’s Terminal Investment Ltd. (TIL) business.
   “I think the deal makes good sense for both parties,” Neil Davidson, Drewry’s senior advisor, ports, told American Shipper. “For TIL it allows them to generate cash from the value of the portfolio whilst still retaining majority control, whilst for GIP it provides a step change in their level of activity in the port sector, and allies them with a fast growing terminal operator and highly successful shipping line.”
   Alistair Baillie, currently executive chairman of International Port Holdings, a wholly-owned ports investment affiliate of GIP, will be joining TIL as president, a move also commended by Davidson.
   He added it’s “too early to say what effect the deal will have on TIL’s operations, but Alistair Baillie is a highly experienced operator in the global terminal business from his days developing P&O Ports, and so his role as president of TIL will be a real asset.” – Eric Johnson