THE CMA CGM Group has signed an agreement to acquire a 90% stake in the Fenix Marine Services terminal in Los Angeles, currently held by EQT Infrastructure III, based on an enterprise value of US$2.3 billion.
CMA CGM currently holds a 10% stake in the terminal. When the transaction closes, it will be the sole owner of the FMS facility.
FMS is the third-largest terminal in the Los Angeles/Long Beach port area in terms of capacity (about 2.5 million TEU) and one of the largest in North America. The terminal also benefits from a long-term concession agreement (through 2043).
CMA CGM Group chairman and CEO Rodolphe Saadé said the swift recovery of the global economy has demonstrated the importance of ports and logistics infrastructure.
“In order to manage efficiently our port operations on the West Coast of the United States, we have decided to acquire Fenix Marine Services, ” he said.
“Fenix Marine Services is one of the largest terminals in this country and one of its most strategic gateways. It is a key industrial facility which will significantly strengthen our position and support our rapid growth in this market.”
The FMS terminal’s infrastructure includes:
- four berths, each more than 305 metres long and with a draft of 15.24 metres,
- 16 cranes, eight of which can service very large ships,
- eight rail tracks located within the terminal, ensuring first-class rail connectivity,
- a 292-acre container yard,
- more than 700 reefer plugs with 24/7 reefer monitoring.
As part of its plan, the company will accelerate FMS’ development with significant investment in the coming years:
- extension of the container yard to increase the terminal’s capacity in a staged approach,
- expansion of the terminal’s rail capacity,
- construction of a new berth,
- continuation of the terminal’s digital transformation.
CMA CGM said by early 2022, the FMS terminal will welcome the first CMA CGM LNG-powered 15,000-TEU ships to be deployed on routes between Asia and the US.
