Linklaters advises DP World on Fos-sur-Mer terminal consolidation and exit from Le Havre terminal

Linklaters advised DP World, a world leader in global supply chain solutions, on the restructuring of Portsynergy SAS (Port Synergy), a 50:50 joint venture owned by Dubai-based DP World and Terminal Link S.A.S. (Terminal Link), a joint venture between French shipping company CMA CGM and Chinese port operator China Merchants Port Holdings Company Limited.

Port Synergy is the holding company for subsidiary companies, Générale de Manutention Portuaire SA (GMP) and Eurofos SARL (EuroFos), which operate container terminals under long-term concession agreements in Le Havre and Fos-sur-Mer, respectively.

Under the terms of the restructuring, DP World consolidated Eurofos under IFRS10, maintaining a 50:50 ownership structure with Terminal Link, and sold its minority shareholding in Le Havre to funds advised by iCON Infrastructure LLP for a transaction enterprise value of €700m on a 100% basis, while Terminal Link acquired a controlling majority in GMP, the holding company of Le Havre.

The Linklaters team was led by UAE Corporate/M&A partner Nick Edwards, and Paris-based Corporate/M&A partners Bruno Derieux and Nicolas Le Guillou, with support from managing associates Robert Ferag in Dubai, and Jacques Mazé and Marguerite Vergez de Heine, in Paris. The cross-practice Paris team leveraged expertise from Antitrust partner Charlotte Colin-Dubuisson and associate Tanguy Laurioz, Employment & Incentives partner Géric Clomes, and managing associate Fériel Aliouchouche, Energy & Infrastructure partner Darko Adamovic and managing associates Pauline Portos and Noémie Lisbonis Boyer, Public Law/Energy & Infrastructure partner Pierre Guillot, and managing associate Pierre Sikorav, and Tax partner Cyril Boussion.