DP World signs acquisition agreement for Chile port operator

DUBAI: Major port operator DP World said it had agreed to acquire a 71.3 per cent stake in Chile’s Puertos y Logistica (Pulogsa) from Minera Valparaiso and other shareholders associated with the Matte Group.

Pulogsa operates a long-term concession for Puerto Central in San Antonio and owns and operates Puerto Lirquen in Chile’s south.

The agreement is dependent on a tender to acquire all outstanding shares of Santiago stock exchange listed Pulogsa.

Dubai’s DP World said it would offer US$ 502 million for 100 per cent equity ownership.

DP World, one of the world’s largest port operators, said that Pulogsa had net financial debt of US$ 226 million as of September 30 and that the transaction was expected to close in the first half of the year.

It also said it expected the deal to be “earnings accretive in the first full year of consolidation” and would be financed from existing balance resources. — Reuters

Terminal tractors line up as they are loaded with containers from a cargo ship at DP World’s fully automated Terminal 2 at Jebel Ali Port in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. — Reuters photo