Canadian pension fund CPP Investments will acquire 100% ownership of Ports America from Oaktree Capital Management at a reported valuation of more than $4 billion.
New Jersey-based Ports America is North America’s largest port terminal operator, with 70 locations in 33 ports across the country handling 13.4 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), 10 million tons of general cargo, 2.5 million vehicles and 1.7 million cruise ship passengers annually, providing services including terminal operations, stevedoring and cargo handling. The company holds approximately one-third of the U.S. container market share, operating a network of 28 container terminals in 18 ports in Los Angeles, New York/New Jersey, Baltimore, Miami, Tampa, New Orleans, Tacoma and Houston.
CPP Investments has been an existing minority investor in Ports America since 2014.
“Ports America represents the opportunity to continue to invest in a high-quality operator that plays an important role in global trade, making the company a good fit for our long-term infrastructure investment strategy.
“Terminal operators play a crucial role as cargo demand and transportation requirements continue to grow in response to the rapid and dynamic changes in how individuals and businesses are buying and selling products,” the Head of Infrastructure at CPP Investments, Scott Lawrence, said.
Also speaking, the Chief Executive Officer at Ports America, Mark Montgomery, said, “At Ports America, our commitment and ability to provide our customers with excellent, safe service and long-term, strategic value informs everything that we do.
“Our partners at Oaktree and CPP Investments have always shared that commitment, and we look forward to continuing our work with the support of the CPP Investments team as they increase their ownership stake. We share a long-term vision for Ports America and are excited to grow our capabilities and service offerings to position the Company for another century of innovation, leadership and success.”
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