Hyundai Merchant Marine Co. (HMM), announced last Friday its decision to buy a 20% stake in Total Terminals International LLC (TTI), an operator of Long Beach Terminal, California, wrote Business Korea. This news immediately follows the U.S. Bankruptcy Court’s approval of Hanjin Shipping Co.’s sale of its 54% stake in TTI to Terminal Investment Limited (TIL), which is Mediterranean Shipping Company’s (MSC) terminal operating subsidiary.
As we wrote, in December HMM and MSC formed a consortium to jointly acquire the 54% stake in Hanjin’s US terminal operator, however later that month HMM withdrew from the join bid on the ground of the company’s low credit ratings, but mentioned its intention to buy a minority stake at a later stage. On 20 December, Hanjin chose MSC’s offer as the highest and best one and signed a deal to sell its 54% stake in TTI and about USD 54 mln in debt and other obligations for USD 78 mln. Thus, MSC, being the owner of 46% of TTI at the time, consolidated 100% shares of the terminal operator.
However, in early January 2017, Hanjin’s creditors – mostly container lessors and other providers of goods and services – tried to block the sale of the terminal operator, fearing they would be left without an adequate compensation. Now, on 18 January, Judge John Sherwood of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Newark, N.J. signed off on the deal, confirming that the creditors’ rights are sufficiently protected.
Finally, with the decision of HMM’s board of directors to buy out a 20% stake in TTI and equipment leasing firm HTEC, as well as the debt owed to its shareholders, for a combined USD 15.6 mln, the Long Beach container terminal, the second busiest container facility at the US West Coast, will be owned by MSC (80%) and HMM (20%).
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