MSC gets set to rocket to the top of the global terminal operator league table : Drewry

LONDON : The announcement on 4 March 2025 that CK Hutchison would be selling its 80% stake in Hutchison Ports Holding to a Blackrock-TiL consortium is set to rocket MSC to the top of Drewry’s Global Terminal Operator (GTO) league table.

Hutchison Ports, which is currently owned 80% CK Hutchison and 20% PSA International, operates a portfolio of 43 maritime container terminals outside of China and Hong Kong stretching from Australia to the United Arab Emirates. The combined capacity of these terminals was over 73 million teu at the end of 2023, with total throughput of almost 47 million teu.

In contrast, MSC’s portfolio – comprising its majority (70%) stake in Terminal Investment Limited (TiL), 100% shareholding in Africa Global Logistics, a portfolio of primarily Italian terminals held via wholly-owned Marinvest and a smattering of other directly-held stakes – generated total throughput of over 70 mteu in 2023.

However, since not all terminals in the respective portfolios are wholly-owned, Drewry uses equity-adjusted throughput as a metric, which adjusts throughout for each terminal pro-rata to the ownership stake held.

The proposed deal will see MSC leapfrog other leading GTOs to secure the top spot in the global terminal operator rankings which Drewry produces each year, securing the Swiss-headquartered container carrier a truly global network of container terminals.

Overall, Drewry’s assessment is that the Hutchison portfolio is complementary to the existing terminal assets under the control of MSC – with the operations in the high growth Southeast Asia and Mexican markets seen to be particularly advantageous.

There are however a number of markets where the deal may result in excess concentration:

Panama – where TiL already holds 42.5% stake in the 2.2 mteu capacity PSA Panama International Terminal at Rodman, which is located opposite the Hutchison-operated 4.0 mteu Balboa terminal (90% shareholding)
Rotterdam – MSC operates the 1.9 mteu capacity Delta Dedicated North Terminal under a JV agreement with ECT, in which Hutchison is majority (89.4%) shareholder. ECT additionally operates the ECT Delta Terminal (4.6 mteu capacity) and holds a 60.8% stake in the Euromax Terminal (3.2 mteu capacity), while Hutchison Ports holds 100% stake in Hutchison Ports Delta II facility (3.6 mteu capacity). The EU regulators will however take into account MSC’s dominant position in the nearby Port of Antwerp plus its recently acquired 49.9% in leading Hamburg operator HHLA when considering whether this latest deals reduces competition across the Northwest Europe port range.
Spain – TiL is the 100% shareholder in MSC Terminal Valencia, and holds the concession to develop the 4.8 mteu capacity CT4. Meanwhile, Hutchison’s wholly-owned 3.3 mteu capacity BEST facility is the largest in the Port of Barcelona.

We therefore expect that the transaction may well trigger some divestments to meet the requirements of the various competition regulators.

At a reported value of $22.8 billion, this is by far the largest deal in the global container terminal sector, dwarfing other major takeovers that have taken place in recent years.

While details on the structure of the deal have not yet been released, the partnership between MSC and Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), which was acquired by Blackrock in 2024, is longstanding. GIP initially acquired a 35% stake in TiL in 2013, which although was subsequently diluted to 20%, it has remained invested in the business for longer than many other infrastructure funds. The synergies between TiL and MSC’s carrier business are clear – the ability to guarantee volumes from the liner gives TiL a clear edge when negotiating both concessions and acquisitions, and GIP (now Blackrock) provides a source of alternative funding that has undoubtedly been well utilised to build the portfolio.

TIL has also evolved over the past 10+ years to have a clearer corporate culture focussed on operational excellence and sustainable operations, and has leveraged its relationship with MSC to deliver its global growth strategy.

In contrast, Hutchison Ports built its portfolio in the late 1990s and early 2000s – very much a “first mover” within the global port sector, but in more recent years it has relied primarily upon organic growth at existing facilities to increase portfolio volumes. CK Hutchison’s wider industrial interests, in particular in the telecoms sector, have reportedly limited the amount of funding available for its ports business, which as a result, has been stuck in the slow-lane compared to the other leading GTOs.

In summary, this deal appears to be a major win for MSC, which secures additional capacity in several key markets. We do however expect the regulatory processes to extend for at least a year, and foresee competition authorities taking a particular interest in the Northwest Europe, Spain and Panama markets.