Morgan Stanley to Buy 80% Interest in Montreal Port

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Morgan Stanley said Thursday it plans to acquire an 80% interest in the Port of Montreal, the third-largest container port in North America.The investment firm said its investment management division will buy the interest from Germany’s TUI, a shipping company.Hapag-Lloyd, TUI’s shipping subsidiary, is a major customer of the terminal and will remain a partner, retaining its 20% stake in Montreal Gateway Terminals.Montreal Gateway Terminals operates the Racine and the Cast terminals on the St. Lawrence River in Montreal. In 2005, it handled 1.1 million 20-foot equivalent units, or TEUs, representing 89% of all containers handled in Montreal.“The strategic location combined with a high utilization of the Montreal port provides a particularly stable income profile,” added Ron Lepin who recently joined Morgan Stanley as a Managing Director from Ontario Teachers Pension Plan, where he built their infrastructure investment program over the last five years.