OOIL to sell Long Beach terminal

Orient Overseas (International) Limited (OOIL) is to sell Long Beach Container Terminal to a consortium led by Macquarie Infrastructure Partners (MIP) for US$1.78Bn.

OOIL’s subsidiaries, OOCL and Long Beach Container Terminal (LBCT LLC), have entered into a sale and purchase agreement to sell 100% of LBCT LLC to a consortium led by MIP. LBCT LLC operates Long Beach Container Terminal in Port of Long Beach in the US.

As part of the sale, OOCL will also enter into a container stevedoring and terminal services agreement with LBCT LLC for a 20-year period. A statement said that this was “confirming its significant long-term commitment to LBCT”.

The sale is undertaken pursuant to the National Security Agreement entered into by OOIL, Faulkner Global Holdings Limited, a subsidiary of COSCO Shipping Holdings Co, the US Department of Homeland Security and the US Department of Justice on 6 July 2018, under which OOIL committed to divest its ownership of the Long Beach Container Terminal business.

OOCL co-chief executive Andy Tung said “Over the past 30 years, we have developed Long Beach Container Terminal into the safest, most efficient and lowest-emission terminal in the United States. We are confident of the future prospects of the terminal under the ownership of MIP and its co-investors, and we look forward to being a long-term strategic customer of Long Beach Container Terminal and the Port of Long Beach."

MIP chief executive Karl Kuchel said “…This transaction marks another key milestone in our relationship with OOIL and we greatly appreciate their significant long-term customer commitment to LBCT. We look forward to partnering with the Port of Long Beach and the LBCT management team to ensure that LBCT delivers high-quality service to OOCL and our other customers going forward. We are also committed to completing the current expansion of LBCT by 2022, which will significantly increase the capacity of the terminal."

The completion of the sale will be subject to approvals from regulatory authorities and other customary conditions.