DP World partners with CDPQ on US$3.7B investment platform

On December 2, 2016, DP World Limited (DP World) entered into a joint venture with Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) to create an investment platform focused on investing in ports and terminals globally (excluding the UAE).

The investment platform totals US$3.7 billion, with DP World holding a 55-per-cent share and CDPQ the remaining 45-per-cent and seeded with two of DP World’s Canadian container terminals, in Vancouver and Prince Rupert, with CDPQ acquiring a 45-per-cent stake of the combined assets for US$640 million.

DP World was represented in-house by Ian Le Pelley, Vice President and General Counsel. Linklaters LLP acted as UK and Dutch counsel to DP World with a team consisting of David Martin, Robert Ferag and Nicholas Edwards. Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP acted as Canadian counsel to DP World, with a team that included Graham Smith, Kurt Sarno, Max Ettinger, Arash Amouzgar, Andrew Clark and Austin White (corporate), Navin Joneja (competition) and Jeffrey Shafer (tax).

In relation to financing, DP World was represented in-house by Catherine Mansfield, by Clifford Chance LLP in the UK, with a team consisting of Robin Abraham, Mark Valenzia and Tom Bamford, and by McCarthy Tétrault LLP in Canada, with a team that included Linda Brown, Jeffrey Knowles and Ailbish Skinner.

CDPQ was represented by in-house senior counsel, François Duquette, and was also represented by Allen & Overy LLP in the UK and Netherlands, with a team consisting of Richard Evans, Claire Coppel and Diana Nardelli, and by Torys LLP in Canada, with a team that included Phil Symmonds, Matthew Atkey, David Leith, Simonne Horwitz and Sharon Au (corporate), Omar Wakil and Marina Chernenko (competition) and Saira Bhojani (tax).