Danish investment company AP Moller Holding is putting money into helping a Moroccan terminals company expand across Africa.
Group subsidiary AP Moller Capital has acquired a 49% stake in Casablanca-based Mass Cereales al Maghreb (MCM), for an undisclosed fee.
Domestic company Holding Marocaine Commerciale et Financiere (Holmarcom) has the rest.
MCM provides handling and storage services for grain bulk cargoes at the ports of Casablanca and Jorf Lasfar.
The company accounts for nearly half the country's grain bulk imports each year.
AP Moller Holding and Holmarcom will now pursue new investments that enable more reliable and efficient supply chains.
"The partnership in MCM reflects AP Moller Capital’s strategy of investing in logistics infrastructure, led by strong management and with a strong partner, to facilitate trade and economic development in Africa," the company said.
Kim Fejfer, managing partner at AP Moller Capital, added that MCM wants to become a leading grain logistics player across Africa.
Creating jobs
"Together with Holmarco, we are proud to support this endeavour, which goes well in hand with our focus on combining attractive investments with a purpose of building sustainable businesses, creating jobs and positively impacting society," he added.
AP Moller Capital was founded in 2017 to manage stand-alone alternative investment funds focusing on infrastructure in growth markets.
Last month, AP Moller Holding said it had hired outgoing Orsted chief executive Henrik Poulsen to boost its energy transition investments.
Poulsen, who said he was quitting at the domestic renewable energy company in June, will become a senior advisor and a member of the investment committee.
New focus on renewables
The executive will provide advice related to investments in businesses targeting the transition to a sustainable society and the broader circular economy, AP Moller Holding said.
The company, owned by the AP Moller Foundation, saw the worth of its assets grow by DKK 18.5bn ($2.95bn) to DKK 117bn in 2019.
A large part of this was down to its 41.5% stake in AP Moller-Maersk, which contributed DKK 9bn from share price growth.
AP Moller-Maersk already has extensive container terminals interests through APM Terminals.
