Peel Ports owns Mersey Docks and Harbour Company which operates the Port of Liverpool, Medway Ports, and Clydeport, all of which handle forest products.
The deal comes only two months after Britain’s biggest port operator, Associated British Ports, was bought by an investment consortium led by Goldman Sachs.
The minority stake in Peel Ports was sold by Peel Holdings to Deutsche Asset Management’s property and investment branch RREEF Infrastructure. The deal values the Peel Ports business at around £1.6bn.
“The company is trading at record levels and this transaction commits long-term funding for it to capitalise on the considerable growth and expansion opportunities available,” said Peel Holdings.
Peel Ports recorded a turnover of £430m for the year ended March 31, 2006.
Throughput of forest products at Liverpool in 2004 was 295,000 tonnes, while Medway Ports recorded 539,000 tonnes in 2003.
