OREANDA-NEWS.  September 26, 2012. SORAINEN advised APM Terminals Management, the Netherlands-based owner and operator of container terminals, and part of A.P. Moller-Maersk, as Estonian counsel in its acquisition of 37.5% of Global Ports Investments, the listed Cyprus-based provider of container and oil products terminal operator services in Russia, Finland and Estonia. Global Ports owns the Vopak E.O.S. oil products terminal in Muuga, Estonia, the largest oil products terminal in the Baltic Sea Basin by throughput, reported the press-centre of SORAINEN.

The transaction will strengthen Global Ports' leading position by providing it with access to APM Terminals' unrivalled global expertise in developing and operating world-class port facilities. This new partnership will enable Global Ports to further optimise its operations, develop new capacity and services, and continue to drive containerisation of Russian cargoes. It will also further boost Global Ports’ positioning as the first choice for the world's major shipping groups as they look to capitalise on increased trade flows into and out of Russia.

Kim Fejfer, CEO of APM Terminals, commented
"/.../ Global Ports is a clear leader in its sector with a very experienced and customer-focused management team and a good eye for growth opportunities. They have an excellent network of facilities with significant scope for capacity development. These qualities, combined with our global experience in port development, productivity, safety and performance, will clearly create the best port choice in the market for clients. Russia and the neighbouring countries have immense growth potential and looking to the future, our teams will work together to identify new market opportunities in this region."

The SORAINEN team was led by partner Toomas Prangli, senior associate Paul Kunnap, and specialist counsel Kadri Kallas.