A unit of Germany's largest bank to buy Maher Terminals
A unit of Germany's largest bank has agreed to buy Maher Terminals, the biggest of the region's ocean cargo handlers, the companies said yesterday. The deal still requires approval of the federal Committee on Foreign Investments and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which leases 600 acres to Maher Terminals, officials said. The agreement with Deutsche Bank AG's RREEF Infrastructure came about a year after a company operated by the government of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates abandoned an effort to buy operations at Port Newark and five other leading U.S. ports, including Baltimore. Politicians who had decried the Bush administration for approving the bid by Dubai Ports World to buy terminals from a British company offered no opposition to the German bank's effort, with one saying it did not raise the same national security concerns. Deutsche Bank is a publicly traded company. Maher Terminals, founded in 1946 by the father of its current leaders, is privately held. Terms were not disclosed. Maher Terminals said it handles about 1.2 million shipping containers each year at its terminal in Port Elizabeth, N.J. - about 45 percent of the volume handled at port authority docks in New York and New Jersey.
The company also is building a terminal in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, that is to open in the fall. "As the environment changes in the port industry, RREEF provides Maher increased ability to compete on a global level," said M. Brian Maher, chairman and chief executive of Maher Terminals, in a statement. "Their vision of growth and value creation will lead us in the future as we grow our existing terminal businesses and compete for additional capacity in the North American market." The companies said RREEF would keep the Maher Terminals name and leadership, including Brian Maher and President Basil Maher, who are brothers. Maher Terminal, which employs about 250, will remain based in Berkeley Heights, N.J. "We believe Maher Terminals represents the best assets combined with the very best management team in the industry," said David Kerr, RREEF managing director and portfolio manager. Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez, of New Jersey, a leading opponent of the Dubai Ports World deal, noted that Deutsche Bank is not government-owned but did not take a position on whether it should be approved. In a statement, Menendez said that "foreign governments - particularly those with checkered pasts fighting terrorism - should not be given the keys to America's front door of commerce." The port authority's review of RREEF will focus on its capability to operate and its willingness to continue making investments in one of the world's busiest shipping operations, said Richard M. Larrabee, the director of the agency's commerce department. He could not estimate how long the process would take. The port authority opposed the Dubai Ports World deal because its consent was not sought, Larrabee said, adding that Maher Terminals on Monday advised the agency about the proposed sale.