DP World DPW.DI, one of the world’s largest port operators, has agreed to buy two fellow state-owned maritime companies from its parent for $405 million.
DP World will acquire Dubai Maritime City owner Maritime World for $180 million and Drydocks World for a capital injection of $225 million from Dubai World, the port operator said in a statement on Monday.
Dubai World, the state-owned conglomerate which agreed to a $25 billion debt restructuring in 2011 after it was hit by the global financial crisis, is the majority owner of DP World, Maritime World and Drydocks World, according to its website.
The transactions are expected to close before the end of the first quarter of 2018, DP World said.
The agreement comes amid a regional dispute that has seen the United Arab Emirates (US), and other Arab countries, cut ties with Qatar, including closing access to its ports.
That has meant that DP World’s flagship port Jebel Ali, the region’s largest, is no longer handling cargo destined to and from Qatar which is instead being shipped direct to Doha or through other regional ports.
DP World said Dubai Maritime City, a commercial and industrial park located next to its Port Rashid, would offer an alternative to the Jebel Ali Free Zone which it also owns.
The port operator also said that Drydocks World, the Middle East’s largest ship repair yard, would be integrated with its maritime services unit P&0 Maritime.
Maritime News
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