The Hindu Business Line : Dubai Ports to acquire P&O for £3.33 b

DUBAI Ports World announced on Tuesday that its £3.33-billion offer of acquisition for the UK ports and ferries group P&O (The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company) has been taken up by the UK firm.

DP World said in a statement that under the terms of the offer, deferred stockholders will receive 443 pence in cash for each unit of deferred stock, valuing the existing issued deferred stock of P&O at approximately £3,326 million.

The offer was made by Thunder FZE, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation, Dubai. The boards of DP World and P&O announced the recommended cash offer under which DP World will acquire all of the issued and to be issued deferred stock of P&O.

Commenting on the offer, Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Chairman of DP World, said, "DP World's acquisition of P&O will create a top-three global ports operator with the scale and network to service an increasingly global and consolidating customer base. The unparalleled strategic fit of the two companies' complementary global ports portfolios and the strong development pipeline, including London Gateway, is particularly compelling. In addition, DP World regards the management and employees of P&O as key to the ongoing success of the combined entity. It is our current intention to keep P&O's headquarters in London."

Sir John Parker, Chairman of P&O, said, "We have today announced that the Board of P&O is recommending DP World's all-cash offer. DP World's offer recognises that P&O is a unique brand with an exceptional footprint of international port assets. P&O is one of the top four international port operators with 29 container terminals and operations in 18 countries across the globe, generating 80 per cent of the group's total profit. Putting P&O and DP World together will create one of the top three leading ports groups in the world."

As of June 30, P&O had some £1.3 billion invested in its portfolio of ports through its regional offices in Mumbai, Sydney, Newark, Manila and Antwerp. It already has over half of its ports assets in the fast growing Asian markets, with terminals in key countries such as India and China.

Major opportunities in development include London Gateway Port and Business Park for which the UK government announced it was `minded to grant' approval in July this year. When completed, the port can handle 3.5 million TEUs, making it the largest in the UK. P&O also provides a range of maritime services.

For the six months ended June 30, P&O reported consolidated turnover of £1.3 billion, group and operating profit of £76.9 million and underlying earnings per share of 5.9 p.

DP World is one of the largest port operators in the world and was created in November 2005 by integrating Dubai Ports Authority and Dubai Ports International.

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