Source: Notteboom, T. and J-P Rodrigue (2022) “Maritime Container Terminal Infrastructure, Network Corporatization, and Global Terminal Operators: Implications for International Business Policy”, Journal of International Business Policy.
The distribution of terminal equity stakes across a sample of 541 container terminals reveals a wide variety of stakes. 31.8% of all terminals have a stake higher than 90%, indicating that many terminal operators prefer full control. If this is not possible, a majority stake above 50% remains preferred. Due to the regulatory framework, such as rules forbidding the majority ownership by a foreign entity of terminal assets or another terminal operator already having a majority stake, another common entry point (20.5% of all stakes) is a minority stake between 40 and 50%. Multiple minority stakes are usually found among the largest container terminals, which assume a well-established gateway function.