Mediterranean Shipping Company’s maritime services subsidiary, SAS Shipping Agencies Services, has agreed to acquire a 56.47% controlling stake in Brazilian port operator Wilson Sons for 4.3 billion Brazilian real (R13.44 billion).
In a regulatory filing, Wilson Sons confirmed it received notification from its controlling shareholder, OW Overseas Investments, regarding the execution of a share purchase agreement.
This agreement involves OW Overseas (the seller) and SAS Shipping Agencies Services Sàrl (the buyer), with Ocean Wilsons Holdings, the seller’s ultimate parent company, acting as guarantor.
The deal includes all 248,664,000 common shares held by OW Overseas, accounting for 56.47% of Wilson Sons’ total voting capital.
The filing further revealed that the unadjusted purchase price for the shares was set at R$17.50 per share, totaling R$4.352 billion. Completion of the transaction is expected in the latter half of 2025.
Upon finalization, SAS Shipping will launch a public tender offer for the remaining shares at the same terms provided to the seller.
Wilson Sons also announced robust financial performance, with a 15% increase in revenue to $262 million (£210 million) and a 12% rise in EBITDA to $111 million (£89 million) for the first half of 2024.
Container terminal EBITDA surged by 47%, attributed to significant growth in transshipment and gateway volumes, additional revenues from ancillary services, and improved cost efficiency. Aggregate volumes hit an all-time high with 25% growth across both terminals.
For the first three quarters of 2024, container terminals reported a 30% rise in volume to 360,900 TEUs, with a cumulative 22% increase over nine months to 972,700 TEUs.
This acquisition is a key development in global port operations, significantly strengthening MSC’s presence in the South American market.
