Hong Kong liner giant Orient Overseas (International) Limited (OOIL) has pocketed $1.78bn following the sale of its Long Beach Container Terminal (LBCT).
It has been sold to a Macquarie Infrastructure Partners-led (MIP) consortium and is expected to net the shipowner a pre-tax profit of $1.29bn.
Last year, OOIL said it would sell the container terminal after it was taken over by China's COSCO Shipping Holdings Co.
COSCO had agreed with the US government to offload the asset in order to gain clearance for the $6.3bn takeover deal.
Jefferies analyst Andrew Lee said in a note OOIL had received an “attractive price” for the terminal and believed it could use the proceeds to issue a special dividend.
As part of the sale, OOIL subsidiary Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) will also enter into a container stevedoring and terminal services agreement with the terminal for a 20-year period.
“Over the past thirty years, we have developed Long Beach Container Terminal into the safest, most efficient and lowest-emission terminal in the US,” said OOCL co-chief executive Andy Tung.
“We are confident of the future prospects of the terminal under the ownership of MIP and its co-investors, and we look forward to being a long term strategic customer of LBCT and the Port of Long Beach.”
Karl Kuchel, chief executive of MIP, added: “We are pleased to acquire LBCT, a premier terminal in the largest port complex in North America, which serves as a gateway for trans-Pacific trade.
“This transaction marks another key milestone in our relationship with OOIL and we greatly appreciate their significant long-term customer commitment to LBCT.
“We are also committed to completing the current expansion of LBCT by 2022, which will significantly increase the capacity of the terminal."
The completion of the sale will be subject to approvals from the relevant regulatory authorities and other customary conditions.
US investment bank JP Morgan acted as the financial adviser, while Slaughter and May acted as the legal counsel to OOIL.
