Danish shipping giant Maersk has acquired the Panama Canal Railway Company, which operates the rail infrastructure along the Panama Canal. Reuters reports.
The deal was made possible by the sale of assets by Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) and the US-based Lanco Group. The company was acquired by Maersk’s port subsidiary.
Although financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, CPKC said the sale would allow it to focus on key markets in Canada, the US and Mexico.
The Panama Canal Railway Company was created as a joint venture between CPKC and Lanco Group and provided freight and passenger rail services along the canal. Last year, the company made a profit of $77 million.
The media emphasize that the deal took place against a backdrop of political tension — the administration of former US President Donald Trump expressed concern about growing foreign influence in the region, in particular from China, and even threatened to return control of the canal, which the US transferred to Panama in 1999.
