ICTSI buys 35% of Pakistan firm

International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) has signed a deal that would give it a foothold in the Middle East through a crucial minority stake in one of Pakistan’s largest ports.

In a disclosure, ICTSI said its subsidiary, ICTSI Mauritius Ltd., signed last March 31 a share-purchase agreement that would give the group a 35-percent stake in Pakistan International Container Terminal Ltd. (PICT).

The transaction would involve a tender offer in the Karachi Stock Exchange, ICTSI said. “ICTSI Mauritius will offer to purchase the shares at a minimum offer price that will be determined in accordance with the takeover laws of Pakistan,” the company said.

The company said the transaction was still subject to the approval of Pakistan regulators and PICT’s creditors.

PICT is a container cargo terminal located at the Karachi Port in Pakistan. It has a maximum handling capacity of 750,000 twenty-foot equivalent container units (TEUs).

ICTSI earlier said it had the option to buy between 33 and 55 percent of PICT. At 55 percent, the purchase would cost ICTSI about $6.6 million.

For the fiscal year ending June 2011, PICT handled a total of 669,806 TEUs, 11-percent up year on year. Aside from its extensive domestic operations, ICTSI also has a presence in 16 other countries in four continents. In the Middle East, ICTSI operates Syria’s Tartous Container Terminal.

Last January, ICTSI successfully raised $150 million in perpetual bonds, which were consolidated into a similar offering issued a year earlier. The company said the extra funds were for further acquisitions.

ICTSI also announced a 33-percent jump in 2011 profit to $130 million. This came as revenues from port operations reached $664 million, 26 percent up year on year.

ICTSI shares closed at P65.45 each yesterday, down 0.07 percent or in line with the main index’s 0.06-percent drop.