APM Terminals has recently announced it has completed the US$1 billion acquisition of 39% shareholder of Spanish Grup Maritim TCB’s port and rail interests.

On 8 September 2015, APM Terminals announced the agreement with Perez y Cia to acquire their majority share (61%) in Grup Maritim TCB. Later, in October 2015, APM Terminals announced the agreement to purchase the remaining 39% shareholder. As a result, APM Terminals has acquired 100% of the issued shares.

APM Terminals has yet to receive approval for 3 of 11 terminals which are under the Grup Maritim TCB management, but APM Terminals has decided to move ahead with the acquisition, as the remaining terminals constitute less than 5% of the value of the acquisition.

The acquisition adds 8 ports with a combined 2 million TEU equity-weighted volumes to APM Terminals, expanding the network to 72 operating ports, across 69 countries.

The acquisition complements APM Terminals portfolio in key locations in Spain:

• Barcelona
• Valencia
• Castellon
• Gijon

Outside of Spain, Grup Maritim TCB’s terminal operations include:

• Yucatan, Mexico
• Quetzal, Guatemala (under construction)
• Buenaventura, Colombia, on the Pacific Coast
• Paranagua, Brazil.

APM Terminals will invest an estimated USD $400 million over the next five years in upgrades and expansion to these operations.

APM Terminals CEO Kim Fejfer, said:

“We are excited to complete the acquisition of Grup Maritim TCB and look forward to working together with our new colleagues. The acquisition expands our position in Spain and accelerates our growth in Latin America. While growth in Latin America has slowed overall, Colombia, Mexico and Guatemala are outperforming the rest of the continent and we believe offer exciting short and medium term opportunities.”

Joe Nicklaus Nielsen, APM Terminals Vice President for Port Investments, added:

“We are continuing to pursue the acquisition of TCB’s Turkish and Canary Island terminals and are confident we will be able to provide satisfactory responses to the regulators’ questions in Turkey in due course. However, as these assets make up less than 5% of the value of the acquisition, we have decided to move ahead with the acquisition to capitalize on the significant momentum we have been building towards the closure of the deal.”