The Dubai company taking over a British firm which manages key US ports has transformed itself within seven years from a local port operator in the Gulf emirate to a global player.
Government-owned Dubai Ports World, whose successful bid for P and O in a 6.8-billion-dollar deal sparked a political firestorm in the United States, emerged through the merger of Dubai Ports Authority (DPA) and Dubai Ports International (DPI) in 2005.
DPI was formed in 1999 to expand operations outside Dubai, one of the seven members of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as DPA managed the two home ports of Rashid and Jebel Ali, handling over two million TEU containers (twenty foot equivalent units).
In the same year, DPI won a Saudi contract to manage the South Container Terminal at the Jeddah Islamic Port on the Red Sea. The company boasts that the terminal was the first in the oil-rich kingdom to handle over one million TEU four years later.
In 2000, DPI signed a port management contract with Djibouti at the mouth of the Red Sea. The company's involvement in the east African country culminated in February in the opening of a new oil terminal facility, which was celebrated on board the US Navy vessel USS Vicksburg.
The US and French navies are major non-commercial clients of the terminal.
In 2002, DPI won a contract to operate a new container terminal at Visakhapatnam port in India, and in 2003, it clinched another contract to operate a new terminal at Constantza in Romania.
DPI expanded in 2004 by acquiring the international terminal business conducted by US-based CSX World Terminals from CSX Corporation in a 1.15-billion-dollar deal.
The acquisition of CSX World Terminals extended DPI's operations further in Asia and into Europe and Latin America as CSXWT's container portfolio at the time consisted of interests in nine terminals with 24 berths and combined future capacity of 14.6 million TEUs.
"This is a major step in DPI's global expansion strategy," Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, then executive chairman of DPA who went on to head DP World, was quoted as saying at the time.
"The acquisition will give DPI an important platform in the North Asia region, notably in Hong Kong, China and Korea and further expands our global network in Europe and the Americas."
DP World now has operations in 12 countries, in addition to its operations in Dubai and Fujairah, another UAE member.
It employs around 10,000 people world-wide, but its turnover remains unknown as the unlisted firm is under no obligation to reveal its financial status.
London's High Court on Thursday cleared the take-over by DP World of P and O, in the face of US uproar over security concerns.
The British port giant said, however, that the take-over was delayed pending an appeal on Monday by a Florida-based firm against the court's decision.
P and O's world-wide interests include terminal operations in Baltimore, Miami, New Jersey, New Orleans, New York and Philadelphia.
The administration of President George W. Bush has defended the approval of the DP World deal in the face of criticism by US lawmakers, saying there is only a low security risk involved.
P and O management and shareholders gave their backing last month to the take-over after Singapore's state-linked PSA International abandoned its multi-billion-dollar bid.
That left the way open for DP World, whose revised 520 pence-per-share offer on January 26 trumped an earlier PSA offer the same day of 470 pence-per-share.
The deal creates the second biggest global ports and container group in terms of traffic, on a par with PSA International and the Danish group APM Terminals. Hutchinson Ports of Hong Kong is number one world-wide.
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