DIF Capital Partners, through its DIF CIF II fund, has signed an agreement to acquire an undisclosed stake from Spanish main shipping and port services company, Boluda Corporación Marítima (Boluda CM), in its container terminal division, Boluda Maritime Terminals. Boluda CM will remain the majority shareholder in the joint venture.
The transaction involves 8 container terminals located in continental Spain and the Canary Islands with a total capacity of over 1.5 million TEUs. All terminals are operated under a concession granted by the port authorities. Focused on gateway cargo, these maritime terminals provide loading, unloading, warehousing, handling of containers, and general cargo services. The JV employs ca. 150 employees. Each terminal has its own financing in place with no new debt being arranged in the context of the transaction.
The terminal portfolio is key to serve essential goods from / to the Canary Islands, a region which represents a population of ca. 2 million inhabitants. The JV agreement includes specific arrangements to further invest in container terminal opportunities.
The terminals will continue to benefit from the support of Boluda Lines, the maritime transport division of Boluda CM, which has developed a successful container cargo service between the Iberian Peninsula, the Canary Islands and other regions in Europe and Africa. The JV has signed a long-term contract with Boluda Lines.
The completion of the acquisition is subject to antitrust approval.
DIF was advised by Deloitte (Financial), Uría Menéndez (Legal) and Drewry (commercial and technical). Boluda CM was advised by Ocean Capital Partners (Financial) and CMS Spain (Legal).
CMS Albiñana & Suárez de Lezo advised Boluda CM with a Corporate/M&A team formed by the firm´s managing partner César Albiñana, partner Antonio Pino and counsel Ignacio Cerrato, together with partner and head of the firm´s Competition & EU department Carlos Vérgez.
DIF was advised by a team from Uría Menéndez, but the firm did not provide details about the lawyers involved.
