SINGAPORE : Singapore's PSA International has made an approach
to acquire British container ports and ferries operator P&O,
rivalling an offer by a Dubai-based firm.
The Singapore port operator did not give a value for its proposal
but the London-based Financial Times said it was worth 3.53 billion
pounds (6.2 billion US dollars).
"PSA International confirms that it has made an approach to The
Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O)," the
Singapore company said in a statement to AFP on Wednesday without
giving details.
While PSA's approach has yet to evolve into a formal proposal, the
figure given by the Financial Times is higher than the 3.33
billion-pound offer for P&O by Dubai's state-owned port
operator, DP World.
P&O, in a statement on its website dated January 10, said its
board of directors has "received an approach from PSA ... which may
lead to an offer to acquire the whole of the P&O deferred stock
at 470 pence in cash per unit."
PSA's proposal "does not amount to a firm intention to make an
offer" and is subject to some pre-conditions, including the
completion of "satisfactory due dilligence", final PSA board
approval and a green light from P&O's pension fund trustees,
the British company said.
P&O said it has deferred for two weeks a stockholders' meeting
scheduled for January 20 to allow PSA "a limited period of time to
satisfy its pre-conditions and put forward a formal offer."
P&O is the world's fourth largest container terminal operator
by capacity.
If PSA, currently in third place worldwide, successfully merges
with P&O, it would overtake Hong Kong-based rival Hutchison
Ports as the market leader, the Financial Times said.
PSA, wholly owned by state-linked Singapore investment firm Temasek
Holdings, has investments in 18 port projects across 11 countries
including Belgium, Brunei, China, India, Italy, Japan, Netherlands,
Portugal, South Korea and Thailand.
- AFP /ct