Takeovers are increasing rapidly
Ports increasingly popular with investors
January 23, 2024, 8:34 a.m
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Management consultants see ports as “the hidden gems of a globalized supply chain.” Apparently so do professional investors. After Asia, Africa is increasingly becoming the focus.
In recent years, ports and their transshipment terminals have become sought-after takeover targets for investors around the world. “Purchases and sales in the area of port infrastructure have experienced a significant increase since 2015,” notes the auditing and consulting firm PWC in a study on the transport and logistics sector. “The transaction volume since then has totaled around $100 billion.”
The value of the deals announced in 2023 – as in the entire sector – fell significantly to $4.2 billion, after $15.3 and 11.7 billion in the two previous years. “With a total of 16 deals, takeover activity in this area was still comparatively high.”
The analysts at Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PWC) are observing that the target regions are shifting: “Between 2015 and 2023, two thirds of the 184 announced deals in the area of port infrastructure were aimed at ports in Asia and Oceania,” says the current “Transport & Logistics Barometer “. In the study, the consulting firm calls ports “the hidden gems of a globalized supply chain.”
“EU must be wide awake”
Investments by foreign investors in ports and terminals in Africa are currently becoming more important. “There is a real competition going on here at the moment.” While China is pushing ahead with the development of the “New Silk Road” and strategic investments in Africa, the EU is also investing in African infrastructure in order to remain competitive.
“Routes and trade focuses are shifting. Asia and Africa are becoming more relevant. The route to Europe could become less important,” says PWC expert for the maritime economy, André Wortmann. “In the struggle for crucial infrastructure, the EU must be wide awake: harmony in the global maritime system is crumbling, because key players sometimes pursue very different interests.”
According to PWC, destinations in Europe also remain highly attractive, as highlighted by the entry of the global shipping company MSC into the Hamburg port operator HHLA. The world’s largest container shipping company MSC and the city of Hamburg as the majority owner will run Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) as a joint venture in the future. A minority stake by the Chinese state shipping company Cosco in a single HHLA terminal in Europe’s third largest seaport had previously caused a stir in Hamburg.