DIF Capital Partners (“DIF”), through its DIF CIF II fund, has signed an agreement to acquire an undisclosed stake from Spanish main shipping and port services company, Boluda Corporación Marítima (“Boluda CM”), in its container terminal division, Boluda Maritime Terminals. Boluda CM will remain the majority shareholder in the joint venture (“JV”).

The transaction involves 8 container terminals located in continental Spain and the Canary Islands with a total capacity of over 1.5 million TEUs. All terminals are operated under a concession granted by the port authorities. Focused on gateway cargo, these maritime terminals provide loading, unloading, warehousing, handling of containers, and general cargo services. The JV employs ca. 150 employees. Each terminal has its own financing in place with no new debt being arranged in the context of the transaction.

The terminal portfolio is key to serve essential goods from / to the Canary Islands, a region which represents a population of ca. 2 million inhabitants. The JV agreement includes specific arrangements to further invest in container terminal opportunities.

The terminals will continue to benefit from the support of Boluda Lines, the maritime transport division of Boluda CM, which has developed a successful container cargo service between the Iberian Peninsula, the Canary Islands and other regions in Europe and Africa. The JV has signed a long-term contract with Boluda Lines.

Willem Jansonius, head of DIF CIF Investments, says: “We are pleased to announce the agreement reached with Boluda CM to invest in their container terminal business. The Boluda terminals are essential infrastructure assets delivering cargo services 24/7 to the Iberian Peninsula and the Canary Islands. We are looking forward to continuing to grow the business together with Boluda CM, management and employees and aim to work closely with its customers, the port authorities and other stakeholders”.

The completion of the acquisition is subject to antitrust approval.

DIF was advised by Deloitte (financial), Uria (legal) and Drewry (commercial and technical). Boluda CM was advised by Ocean Capital Partners (financial) and CMS (legal).

About DIF Capital Partners

DIF Capital Partners is a leading global independent investment manager, with ca. EUR 10 billion in assets under management across nine closed-end infrastructure funds and several co-investment vehicles. DIF invests in infrastructure companies and assets located primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Australia through two complementary strategies:

• DIF CIF funds, of which DIF CIF II is the latest vintage, target equity investments in small to mid-sized core-plus infrastructure companies in the telecom, energy transition, and transportation sectors.
• Traditional DIF funds, of which DIF Infrastructure VI is the latest vintage, target core infrastructure equity investments with long-term contracted or regulated income streams including public-private partnerships, concessions, utilities, and energy transition projects (incl. renewable energy).

DIF Capital Partners has a team of over 180 professionals, based in eleven offices located in Amsterdam (Schiphol), Frankfurt, Helsinki, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, New York, Paris, Santiago, Sydney, and Toronto. For more information please visit www.dif.eu.

Contact: Jorda Zuurendonk, j.zuurendonk@dif.eu.

About Boluda Corporación Marítima

Boluda Corporación Marítima is the holding company of the main shipping and maritime services group in Spain. The company is organized in 2 strategic divisions:

• Boluda Towage, which mainly provides tugboat services, being an undisputed leader on both a national and international level, with a fleet of over 300 tugs operating in the main ports of Europe, Africa, America and the Indian Ocean. The division also provides coastal, ocean, and offshore towage and maritime salvage services.
• Boluda Shipping division, which, in addition to holding the container terminal division of the group, provides shipping services (Boluda Lines) through a wide offer of commercial lines linking the Iberian Peninsula, the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands, Italy, northern Europe, the west coast of Africa and Cape Verde. The division also offers general cargo, international freight forwarding and other port logistics services.

For more information, please visit www.boluda.com.es