Canadian Pacific To Acquire TMM's Shareholding In Americana Ships

Canadian Pacific Limited has agreed to acquire the outstanding 50 percent of the Americana Ships joint venture from its partner, Transportacion Maritima Mexicana SA de CV of Mexico. CP Ships and TMM formed Americana Ships in January 1999 as an equal partnership. TMM has now decided to narrow its strategic focus to concentrate on its other activities. Completion of the transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval, is expected early in the new year. It will confer full ownership of the container shipping services operated under the Lykes Lines, TMM Lines and TMG brands to Canadian Pacific's container shipping subsidiary, CP Ships. The transaction also includes the 27,000 teu container fleet owned by TMM and used by Americana Ships. With annual revenue of more than $1 billion and volume of nearly one million teus, Americana Ships ranks among the top 15 largest container shipping businesses worldwide. "The formation of Americana Ships a year ago was a key element in our strategy to leverage liner activities in order to promote growth of our land activities," commented TMM group chairman Josi Serrano. "By selling our interest in the joint venture, we will be able to accelerate this process and achieve our goals more quickly." "TMM's long experience in these markets contributed substantially toward the creation of the strongest, most efficient container shipping group in the Latin American and Atlantic trades," said Ray Miles, CEO of CP Ships. "In this first stage in the evolution of Americana Ships, we realized more than $100 million of cost savings. We improved services, opened new offices, upgraded our fleet and built market share. Thanks to such a good start, Americana Ships has a bright future as part of the CP Ships group."