Consortium around CMA CGM acquires port of Thessaoliniki
Together with its partner CMA CGM, the investment company Deutsche Invest Equity Partners has submitted the highest offer for the port operations in Thessaloniki. 67 percent of the shares of the operator of Greece’s second-largest port were sold for a total of EUR 231.9 million to the Franco-German consortium, reports HRADF, the Greek privatisation authority. The current market value is estimated at EUR 138.5 million.
The privatisation process for Thessaloniki was launched three years ago, but was delayed several times due to the economic conditions. Finally, there were three bidders left, Deutsche Invest together with CMA CGM’s subsidiary Terminal Link SAS and Belterra Investments, the Philippine International Container Terminal Services (ICTS) and DP World’s P&O Steam Navigation Company (Dubai).
According to the requirements of the Greek privatisation authority HRADF, the future operator will have to invest a minimum of EUR 180 million in the port development. The government expects the concession revenues to reach some EUR 700 million by 2051.
Last year about 14.1 million tonnes of goods were handled in the port of Thessaloniki, and 1,828 ship calls were registered. This corresponds to a decline of 7.5 percent compared to 2015. In the container segment, the volume decreased by 2 percent to 344,277 TEU.