Germany's Hapag-Lloyd buys Bain Capital's 35% in J M Baxi Ports in $350-M+ deal

German shipping major Hapag-Lloyd AG has acquired a 35% stake in J M Baxi Ports & Logistics Ltd (JMBPL) from existing Private Equity (PE) shareholder Bain Capital. Additionally, Hapag-Lloyd AG has signed a binding agreement with JMBPL and its promoters, the Kotak family, to subscribe to a capital increase by the company and raise Hapag-Lloyd's shareholding to 40%. The deal size is estimated to be about USD 350-400 million. Bank of America advised the buyer. J M Baxi Ports & Logistics is a private terminal and inland transport service provider. Its operations comprise container terminals, a multi-purpose terminal, inland container depots, container freight stations and additional logistics activities such as rail services. The company employs around 5,400 people and handles a combined container volume of about 1.6 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit.) The Kotak family owns 60.8% of J M Baxi Ports & Logistics, while the remaining 39.20% is held by Bain Capital, which acquired the stake in 2021 by investing INR 1,317 crore. Hapag-Lloyd owns a fleet of 252 modern container ships with a total transport capacity of 1.8 million TEU. The company has around 14,500 employees at 400 offices in 137 countries.