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Djibouti, January 5, 2013 – China Merchants Holdings (International)
Company Limited has announced that, on 29 December 2012, through an
indirect wholly-owned subsidiary, China Merchants Holdings (Djibouti)
FZE it entered into a share purchase agreement with, among others,
Djibouti Ports & Free Zones Authority, to acquire 23.5 % of the issued
share capital in Port de Djibouti S.A. at a cash consideration of
US$185,000,000.
PAID is currently a public entity existing under the laws of the
Republic of Djibouti, which is under the management of DPFZA as at the
date of the Share Purchase Agreement. As one of the conditions precedent
to the Share Purchase Agreement, PAID will be transformed from a public
entity into a private company limited by shares and will be renamed as
PDSA. The key assets and operations of PDSA at completion of the Share
Purchase Agreement will be:
- The multi-purpose terminal located at the Port of Djibouti;
- 66.66% of the issued share capital in Doraleh Container Terminal S.A.
(which operates a container terminal at the Port of Djibouti);
- 23.10% of the issued share capital in Djibouti Dry Port FZCO (which is
engaged in the development and management of properties in Djibouti Free
Zone).
CM Djibouti and DPFZA will enter into a shareholders’ agreement at
Completion. The parties envisage, through PDSA, to establish a strategic
partnership to plan, develop, construct and operate seaports and
terminals and port-related business in the city of Djibouti in Djibouti.
The performance and obligations of DPFZA under both Share Purchase
Agreement and Shareholders Agreement are guaranteed by the government of
Djibouti.
CMHI, together with its subsidiaries, has, in recent years, been
actively exploring and capturing appropriate opportunities overseas
through which to effectively add new growth drivers to its existing and
sustainably-growing ports business. The Port of Djibouti, which lies
strategically at the mouth of Red Sea thus making it an ideal
transshipment hub for maritime cargoes passing in and out of East
Africa, offers long-term growth potential as the economic momentum in
the proximity intensifies over time.
CMHI Chairman, Dr. Fu Yuning, emphasized, “this acquisition does not
only avail the Group with another attractive opportunity to establish
its presence in East Africa but also, together with the Group’s earlier
investments in West Africa (viz Lagos of Nigeria and Lome of Togo),
strengthen the Group’s positioning in the increasingly affluent African
market. In addition, it complements and synergies with the Group’s
container terminal currently under development in Colombo in terms of
service capability for the international maritime industry. The
acquisition is consistent with the Group’s long-term development
strategy to gradually roll out its international footprint.”
Source: Dredging Today.com
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