The European Commission has approved the joint acquisition of Belgian container terminal operator PSA DGD by Swiss Terminal Investment Limited Sàrl (TiL) and Singapore’s PSA International (PSA).
Mediterraneann Shipping Company (MSC) — the second largest container shipping company in the world — jointly controls Terminal Investment.
The commission concluded that the proposed acquisition would raise no competition concerns because of the limited changes to the market.
PSA DGD operates container terminals at the Deurganck dock in the Port of Antwerp — the single largest container handling facility in Europe.
Since the opening in 2005, PSA has continued to further expand the terminal (seen in the video below), both in terms of surface area and handling equipment.
Technical Paper: The New Era of Container Shipping
The facility now has a throughput capacity of 9 million TEUs annually and features a total of 41 quay cranes across 9 berths, 200 straddle carriers and a quay length of 3,550 metres.
Over the last decade, TiL has grown to become the largest container terminal operator in the world, with 7 terminals in 25 world busiest ports.
In April 2013, MSC announced plans to sell 35% of TIL to Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), a partnership which forms a strong foundation for the future growth of the company.
