French container shipping group CMA CGM and U.S. investment firm Stonepeak said on Wednesday they have reached an agreement to establish a joint venture to operate and invest in port terminals, including facilities in the United States. The new company, to be called United Ports LLC, carries a valuation of nearly $10 billion, the firms said.
Under the terms disclosed, Stonepeak will commit $2.4 billion to acquire a 25% minority interest in the terminal business. CMA CGM will contribute 10 terminals it already controls to the venture, among them installations in New York and Los Angeles. Stonepeak has also reserved the option to provide an additional $3.6 billion in capital for future joint terminal projects, the companies said.
The statement from the partners said CMA CGM intends to use the $2.4 billion of proceeds from the transaction to invest in the growth of its core businesses.
Rodolphe Saade, Chairman and CEO of CMA CGM, is quoted in the companies' release as saying: "The creation of United Ports LLC, our joint venture with Stonepeak, marks an important step in the development of our terminal activities in the United States and globally."
CMA CGM, the world’s third-largest container shipping group, has increased its exposure to port terminals as part of a broader push to secure access to key trade routes and to reduce dependence on the often volatile earnings from ocean freight operations. The company last year announced plans to invest $20 billion in the United States.
Privately controlled by the Saade family, CMA CGM has publicly expressed interest in acquiring some of the ports owned by CK Hutchison. The Hong Kong conglomerate has proposed to sell ports as global trade dynamics have come under scrutiny amid tensions between Washington and Beijing over control of strategic trade routes, including the Panama Canal, the companies noted.
The agreement creates a vehicle that combines CMA CGM's existing terminal assets with Stonepeak's capital and infrastructure investing expertise. Specific operational changes, timelines for additional funding, and any regulatory approvals required were not detailed in the companies' announcement.
Market participants and stakeholders in the shipping, port operations, and infrastructure investment sectors will be watching for how United Ports LLC deploys capital and integrates the contributed terminals, and whether the potential additional funding from Stonepeak is drawn down for new projects.