Obligatory sale of Long Beach terminal pays off
The decision of the committee on foreign investment in the United States to make Orient Overseas International (OOIL) sell its stake in Long Beach happened at the right time - for the seller. Since China’s Cosco Shipping acquired a majority stake in OOIL in July 2018, the US federal government obliged OOIL to sell its Long Beach Container Terminal (LBCT).
The deal was closed in April 2019, when a consortium of investors led by Macquarie Infrastructure Partners invested USD 1.78 billion in the terminal.
The profit share was remarkable, as OOIL pointed out in its results of 2019 (see ITJ Daily of 29 January 2020): "A good sales price was achieved, resulting in a profit of USD 1.2 billion.” The group also underlined that its liner company OOCL "will continue to have access to the terminal to service the requirements of our trans-Pacific trade.” (mw)