Dubai Ports International (DPI), one of the world's leading port operators, announced on February 22 that it had completed the acquisition of CSX World Terminals, the international terminal business of CSX Corporation, for closing cash consideration of USD1.142bn, subject to final working capital and long-term debt adjustments.

This places DPI among the worldOs top six port operators. DPI currently has extensive operations in the Middle East, Africa, Europe and India. The acquisition of CSX WT gives DPI a strong presence in Asia for the first time, including CT3 and CT8W in Hong Kong, Tianjin and Yantai in China as well as operations in Australia, Germany, Dominican Republic and Venezuela. DPI now has a truly international network with the capacity to service the needs of customers across the globe. The combined portfolio consists of interests in 15 operational terminals in 13 locations with a combined capacity in excess of 24mn TEU.

In line with future development and expansion of the network, DPI has acquired the company's strong pipeline of development projects. In particular, CSX WT has a 25% interest in, and will be the operator of, Pusan Newport, South Korea, a nine-berth facility with a capacity of 5.5mn TEU that is currently under development and is expected to commence operations in 2006.

DPI has also acquired interests in logistics businesses in Hong Kong and China, notably ATL, the logistics operator based at Kwai Chung, Hong Kong. On December 30, 2004, prior to the completion of this transaction, CSX WT announced that it had raised its stake in Asia Container Terminals Ltd (ACT) to 68.6% giving the Group a majority share in the operation. ACT is the owner and operator of the premier terminal CT8W in Hong Kong.

The transaction was financed from a committed loan facility arranged and underwritten by Deutsche Bank AG on December 16, 2004 for USD1.45 bn. Deutsche Bank acted as financial adviser to Dubai Ports International and Citigroup Global Markets acted as financial adviser to CSX with respect to the transaction. Sullivan & Cromwell LLP acted as legal counsel to DPI and Arnold & Porter LLP represented CSX.

Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, executive chairman, Dubai Ports, said: "I am delighted that the transaction is completed. The acquisition of CSX WT complements DPI's existing network giving us a truly global footprint that will benefit our customers and partners around the world. It will allow DPI to participate in the long-term growth of the global transportation and logistics industry and gives us access to new growth markets in Asia and Latin America."

Mohammed Sharaf, Managing Director, Dubai Ports International, said: "The addition of such strong operations in Asia means that we can look forward to further enhancing our relationships with existing DPI customers and extending our high service levels to new ones. We are proud of the relationships we have with our international customers and want to serve them at an international level.

"The skills that have made the Dubai Ports such a success story will be transferred to the newly-acquired businesses. Over the longer-term we will seek to improve the breadth and quality of the services available across our network. As always, we are focused on providing our customers with a level of service second to none."

Peter Wong, VP China, and Rufin Mak, VP Hong Kong, CSX World Terminals hailed the completion of the acquisition and DPIOs excellent reputation for successful management and growth operations which they said they looked forward to applying in Hong Kong.