The CMA CGM Group, a world leader in shipping and logistics, said it has signed an agreement with China Merchants Port (CMP) to sell a portfolio of stakes in ten port terminals to Terminal Link, their joint-venture set up in 2013 and owned 51% by CMA CGM and 49% by CMP. The agreement confirms the terms of the transaction announced on 25 November 2019, particularly the consideration of USD 968 million, payable in cash at closing.
The transaction will enable Terminal Link to broaden its geographic footprint and reinforce its growth potential by giving it equity stakes in ten additional terminals:
- Odessa Terminal (Ukraine)
- CMA CGM PSA Lion Terminal (CPLT) (Singapore)
- Mundra Terminal (India)
- Kingston Freeport Terminal (Jamaica)
- Rotterdam World Gateway (Netherlands)
- Gemalink (Cai Mep, Vietnam)
- Qingdao Qianwan United Advance Container Terminal (China)
- Vietnam International Container Terminal (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam)
- Laem Chabang International Terminal (Thailand)
- Umm Qasr Terminal (Iraq)
The transaction is expected to close in Spring 2020, pending approval by antitrust authorities and the relevant regulatory bodies.
The CMA CGM Group strengthens its balance sheet
The sale is part of the plan announced on 25 November 2019, whereby the Group intends to reduce its debt and increase its liquidity. Through the various planned transactions, the CMA CGM Group expects to raise more than USD 2 billion in additional cash by mid-2020, while extending its debt maturities and reducing its debt by more than USD 1.3 billion.
About CMA CGM
Led by Rodolphe Saadé, the CMA CGM Group is a world leader in shipping and logistics. Its 506 vessels serve more than 420 ports on five continents around the world and carried nearly 21 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) in 2018. With CEVA, a world leader in logistics services, CMA CGM handled more than 500,000 tons of airfreight and 1.9 million tons of inland freight in 2018. CMA CGM is constantly innovating to offer customers new maritime, inland and logistics solutions. Present on every continent and in 160 countries through its network of 755 offices and 750 warehouses, the Group employs 110,000 people worldwide, of which 2,400 in Marseille where its head office is located.