Pssst! Wanna buy a container port?

While the development most likely won't have much impact on the day to day operations of the Fairview Container Port, according to an item in the Wall Street Journal, the German owners of Maher Terminals, the company that operates Fairview have put the entire company on the market.

An article published to the Wall Street Journal website reviews some of the back story on the investment opportunity, with Maher's corporate owner Deutsche Bank AG reportedly having lost a significant amount of money on their 2007 purchase.

While some aspects of the Maher operations may be struggling, the Wall Street Journal item outlined how the Prince Rupert terminal is considered to be the better performing portion of the Maher organization.

The bulk of the trouble for the company appears to stem from lost contracts and lower than expected volumes at their New Jersey operations. Fall out it seems from the effects of the world wide financial crisis of six years ago.

The German bankers have yet to decide if they wish to sell the entire business unit as a whole, or offer up their container ports as individual sales.

Should they sell the larger total investment, it's anticipated that the sale could bring in somewhere between 800 million and 1 billion dollars.

Considering the continued growth of the Prince Rupert operation and the prospect of expansion and increased through put, it would appear that the Fairview Terminal operations might make for an attractive investment.

The notice of potential sale of the major terminal operator highlights the growing attention that Prince Rupert Port operations are gaining in the international business community. And how decisions made in  far off places such as a German board room, could change the dynamic on the local waterfront.

You can review the full item here.

For more items on the Fairview Container Port see our archive page.