A subsidiary of China Merchants Port Holdings Company (CMPH) has entered into an agreement to buy a majority stake in Zhongshan Port & Shipping Enterprise Group.
CMPH’s Shenzhen Chiwan Wharf Holdings will purchase a 51% equity interest in the port operator from Zhongshan Zhonghang Investment Development at a consideration of RMB484.5m ($75.49m).
Zhongshan Port & Shipping is currently 62.51% owned by Zhongshan Zhonghang Investment Development and 37.49% by Zhongshan District City Construction Investment Group Co (ZDCCI). The latest deal will not impact the stake held by ZDCCI.
Zhongshan Port & Shipping currently operates port zones in the ports of Zhongshan, Xiaolan and Shenwan in the Pearl River Delta region with a total of 23 berths in operation.
“The acquisition of the target will allow the group to control the port assets in Zhongshan currently operated by the target and will further strengthen the group’s port network and strategic synergy of port resources in the Pearl River Delta region,” CMPH stated.
The group has, in recent years, been exploring and capturing available opportunities to grow its ports business.
Earlier this month, CMPH’s wholly-owned CM SPV entered into a deal to acquire 90% of the issued share capital of Brazil’s TCP at a price of BRL2.89bn ($929.14m), marking the Chinese group’s business expansion to the Latin America region.