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Canada pension fund to acquire Ports America

CPP Investments to become owner of largest US terminal operator in deal with Oaktree

Ports America operates terminals at over 30 U.S. ports including the Port of Houston. (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is set to become the full owner of Ports America, the largest U.S. terminal operator, after agreeing to acquire Oaktree Capital Management’s stake.

The price and terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. But Bloomberg reported that the deal, announced Wednesday, valued New Jersey-based Ports America at $4 billion.

Ports America operates terminals at 33 U.S. ports, including Los Angeles; New York-New Jersey; Savannah, Georgia; and Houston. CPPIB, which operates as CPP Investments, has been a minority shareholder since 2014. 

The pension fund said it plans to support the future growth of the port operator. 


“Ports America represents the opportunity to continue to invest in a high-quality operator that plays an important role in global trade, making the company a good fit for our long-term infrastructure investment strategy,” Scott Lawrence, CPP Investments’ managing director and head of infrastructure, said in a statement. 

CPP Investments has over $400 billion in assets under management and is one of the world’s largest private equity investors. It oversees investments for the Canada Pension Plan, which serves more than 20 million Canadians. 

Ports America adds to the pension fund’s significant supply chain investments, including Indian 3PL Delhivery, and the firm that operates Highway 407 Electronic Toll Route in Ontario.

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Nate Tabak

Nate Tabak is a Toronto-based journalist and producer who covers cybersecurity and cross-border trucking and logistics for FreightWaves. He spent seven years reporting stories in the Balkans and Eastern Europe as a reporter, producer and editor based in Kosovo. He previously worked at newspapers in the San Francisco Bay Area, including the San Jose Mercury News. He graduated from UC Berkeley, where he studied the history of American policing. Contact Nate at [email protected].