Turkish Conglomerate Joins Bid for Israeli Port as U.S. Watches
Turkish Conglomerate Joins Bid for Israeli Port as U.S. Watches
(Bloomberg) -- A Turkish industrial conglomerate is joining a consortium that includes an American shipping company to bid for Israel’s largest seaport, after the U.S. raised concerns over Chinese influence and security implications involved in the sale of the strategic facility.
Yildirim Holding AS will own a majority stake in the venture, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the information isn’t public. The Istanbul-based firm, which has expanded under Chief Executive Officer Robert Yuksel Yildirim to run terminals from Portugal to Ecuador, is seeking to be among the world’s top 10 container terminal operators by 2025.
Eli Tilles -- a former senior manager in Israeli port and railway operations, who won the bid to privatize Israel’s southern Eilat seaport a few years ago -- is putting together the group, he said by email. Along with Tilles, U.S.-based GraeStone Logistics LLC and cruise port operator Global Ports Holding Plc, based in London and owned by Turkish investment firm Global Yatirim Holding AS, will round out the other bidders for Haifa Port.
Israel’s government wants to sell Haifa Port for as much as 2 billion shekels ($590 million). U.S. officials have been working to find American companies to participate in the deal after no U.S. firms made offers for a previous Haifa project won by China’s state-run Shanghai International Port Group Co. in 2015. So far, Chinese companies haven’t publicly voiced interest in Israel’s latest offering.
The consortium may get a boost from the participation of GraeStone, a family-owned firm led by industry veteran Michael Beesecker headquartered in Kentucky, that has also done work for the U.S. military.
Competition for the port in the northern city looks set to also include another Israeli industry veteran Shlomi Fogel, who is teaming up with Dubai-based port operator DP World to prepare an offer.
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