A.P. Moller-Maersk agreed to sell its stake in the Yantian container terminal in China to a subsidiary of China's COSCO Pacific for $520 million, the company said Thursday.
The sale will generate an accounting gain of between $300 million and $400 million in 2010, the Danish parent of ocean carrier Maersk Line said.
Maersk and its wholly owned subsidiary Orion Limited are selling a 13.7 percent stake in Sigma Enterprises which has an interest in the Yantian International Container Terminal to COSCO Pacific's Castway International Limited.
Maersk said the transaction, which requires the consent of other Sigma shareholders and approvals from the shareholders of COSCO Pacific and China Cosco Holdings is expected to close by the end of July.
"This divestment is part of an active portfolio management," said Kim Fejfer, CEO of APM Terminals, Maersk's container terminal arm.
"We held a minority stake and we were not operator in Yantian. We received a fair offer, and this will enable us to focus on growing our business in areas where we can add value through our strong project management and safe and efficient operations," Fejfer said.
"China is an important growth market for APM Terminals and we are dedicated to serving the needs of our customers in China. We remain very positive on the container port market in China and globally,” Fejfer said.
Fejfer said APM Terminals will continue to seek investment opportunities in China.
APM Terminals has operations and holds stakes in terminals in the Chinese ports of Dalian, Guangzhou, Qingdao, Shanghai, Tianjin and Xiamen.
The sale will generate an accounting gain of between $300 million and $400 million in 2010, the Danish parent of ocean carrier Maersk Line said.
Maersk and its wholly owned subsidiary Orion Limited are selling a 13.7 percent stake in Sigma Enterprises which has an interest in the Yantian International Container Terminal to COSCO Pacific's Castway International Limited.
Maersk said the transaction, which requires the consent of other Sigma shareholders and approvals from the shareholders of COSCO Pacific and China Cosco Holdings is expected to close by the end of July.
"This divestment is part of an active portfolio management," said Kim Fejfer, CEO of APM Terminals, Maersk's container terminal arm.
"We held a minority stake and we were not operator in Yantian. We received a fair offer, and this will enable us to focus on growing our business in areas where we can add value through our strong project management and safe and efficient operations," Fejfer said.
"China is an important growth market for APM Terminals and we are dedicated to serving the needs of our customers in China. We remain very positive on the container port market in China and globally,” Fejfer said.
Fejfer said APM Terminals will continue to seek investment opportunities in China.
APM Terminals has operations and holds stakes in terminals in the Chinese ports of Dalian, Guangzhou, Qingdao, Shanghai, Tianjin and Xiamen.