P&O consolidates ownership in Port Newark terminal

P&O consolidates ownership in Port Newark terminal Dubai Ports World is selling its P&O Ports North America subsidiary, but before consummating that deal plans to acquire total control of the Port Newark Container Terminal (PNCT) it currently shares with APM Terminals.
   P&O Ports said Tuesday it reached agreement to buy the remaining 50-percent interest in the terminal operating company from A.P. Moeller-Maersk, the industrial conglomerate and shipping line that owns APM Terminals. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
   A.P. Moeller-Maersk took over half of the container terminal in 2005 through its acquisition of P&O NedLloyd. Earlier this month DP World announced its intention to sell P&O North American to the investment arm of AIG, the largest U.S. insurance company.
   The sale of APM Terminal’s stake in PNCT to P&O Ports North America and the sale of the company to AIG will be completed simultaneously, P&O said in a statement.
   The transactions are expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2007.
   PNCT is a 180-acre common-use container terminal in the Port of New York and New Jersey that handles about 1 million TEUs per year.
   APM Terminals operates a major terminal of its own in Port Elizabeth, N.J.