Container terminals have been treated as revenue-producing investments that offer steady returns, says Mary Brooks, transportation expert and professor emerita at Dalhousie University.

Such transactions could have more to do with cheap borrowing costs than a comment on the quality of the Halifax terminals, she says.

Nevertheless, Macquarie agreed to pay more than US$340 million for a 49 per cent stake in NYK Ports, which is owned by shipping line Nippon Yusen Kaisha. The deal only involves NYK’s terminals in Los Angeles, New Orleans and Montreal, along with shipping-related operations elsewhere.

Then, on Tuesday, it was reported by the Wall Street Journal that in a separate deal, Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners, a division of U.S. bank Morgan Stanley, had agreed to sell its Montreal terminal to a consortium led by Fiera Axium Infrastructure Inc. for a sum that could reach US$600 million.

Bank of Montreal is reported to be providing the debt financing for the Fiera Axium’s partners, which includes two Quebec-based financial institutions, Desjardins Group and Fonds de Solidarite.

The changing ownership landscape in the terminal business, especially at Halifax rival Montreal, may indicate that a port is a source of consistent revenue for pension funds, investment banks and even shipping lines.a

Read more