Hapag-Lloyd Among Shortlisted Bidders for GCT Terminals in New York and New Jersey

By Gillian Tan, Kiel Porter and Kamaron Leach (Bloomberg) —

Ports America, Terminal Investment Ltd., Carrix and Hapag-Lloyd AG are among shortlisted bidders for Global Container Terminals’ operations in Staten Island in New York and Bayonne of New Jersey, according to people with knowledge of the matter. 

Global Container Terminals’ owners Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, IFM Investors and British Columbia Investment Management Corp. have narrowed down the group of suitors vying for the two container terminals, said the people, who requested anonymity discussing private information. The assets may fetch about $3 billion, the people said.

Ports America is owned by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, while Carrix is controlled by Blackstone Infrastructure Partners. TIL handles volumes for Mediterranean Shipping Company and counts Global Infrastructure Partners and Singapore’s GIC among its investors, while Hamburg-based Hapag-Lloyd is a global liner shipping company. 

“Investing in terminal infrastructure is a key element of our strategic agenda,” Hapag-Lloyd CEO Rolf Habben Jansen said earlier this month when the company agreed to acquire assets from Sociedad Matriz SAAM SA.

Representatives for Global Container Terminals, Blackstone, Ports America, Ontario Teachers’, IFM and Hapag-Lloyd declined to comment. Representatives for TIL, Carrix, CPPIB, GIC, GIP and BCI didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Port and terminal operations have long attracted both institutional and strategic investors, in part due to their scarcity value. Global Container describes its Bayonne operations as the “most efficient terminal” in the port of New York and New Jersey, in part because it can accommodate large vessels in a way that reduces transit times. 

–With assistance from Dinesh Nair, Layan Odeh and Aaron Kirchfeld.

© 2022 Bloomberg L.P.