13 Sep 2022 12:29

Delo Group closes deal to buy 30.75% stake in Global Ports from APM Terminals

MOSCOW. Sept 13 (Interfax) - Delo Group and APM Terminals (APMT), an A.P. Moeller-Maersk A/S entity, has concluded a deal on acquiring a 30.75% stake in Global Ports Investments Plc after receiving the corresponding permits from the Russian regulatory authorities, the group said in a statement.

"Following the completion of the transaction, the group is now the owner of a 61.5% stake in Global Ports," according to the statement.

"The group and AMPT have concluded a transaction on agreed market terms and conditions. This includes the possibility for APMT to return to joint business with the group in the future," the group said.

Delo Group entered into an agreement with APMT to buy the 30.75%, subject to Russian regulatory approvals, at the end of August. The parties did not comment on the cost of the deal or other details.

APMT said in March that it intended to begin the process of exiting the share capital of Global Ports. It also said it would continue to be represented on the board of directors and fulfil its obligations towards the company until the stake has been divested.

Global Ports said three APMT directors - Soren Jakobsen, Mogens Petersen and Kristian Bai Hollund - left its board on September 13. The new board chairman is Vladimir Bychkov, vice president of Delo for logistics and development and a former head of Global Ports, who has served on the board since May 2021. Andrei Lenvalsky, another director, has been elected to the appointments and remuneration committee.

APM Terminals became a Global Ports shareholder in 2012.

Global Ports is the biggest container terminal operator in Russia with assets on the Baltic Sea and the Far East. It operates five terminals in Russia and two in Finland. The principal shareholders prior to the latest deal were are Delo and APM Terminals B.V. with 30.75% each. Ilibrinio Establishment Ltd and Polozio Enterprises Ltd, the former owners of National Container Company, each have 9% stakes. The free float is 20.5%. Global Ports GDRs are traded on the London Stock Exchange.

Delo Group operates marine container terminals in the Azov-Black Sea, Baltic and Far East basins, a network of railway container terminals and a fleet of containers and well cars. Group founder Sergei Shishkarev owns 51% of the company and Rosatom holds 49%.