The French liner shipping company CMA CGM has acquired a majority stake in the Brazilian port operator Santos Brasil.
The transaction was completed at a price of BRL 13.60(Brazilian Real) per share. As a result, the CMA CGM Group now holds a 51% stake in Santos Brasil, making it the company’s majority shareholder.
This includes the 47.9% stake acquired from Opportunity on April 24, 2025 and the 3.1% purchased from a subsidiary of CMA CGM on September 30, 2024.
CMA CGM plans complete takeover
As announced in September, CMA CGM, through CMA Terminals Atlantic, will launch a mandatory tender offer to acquire all outstanding shares of Santos Brasil at the same price and on the same terms as Opportunity, with the SELIC rate adjusted accordingly until the financial settlement of the tender offer.
The SELIC is the benchmark interest rate for the Brazilian economy. The name of the Selic rate is derived from the abbreviation of the Special Settlement and Custody System (Sistema Especial de Liquidação e de Custódia). This prime rate set by the Brazilian Central Bank serves as the interest rate for one-day repo transactions with Brazilian federal bonds and is its most important monetary policy instrument for controlling the country’s inflation.
The CMA CGM Group also intends to convert the company’s registration with the Brazilian securities market authority CVM (Comissão de Valores Mobiliários) to category “B” and consequently remove Santos Brasil from segment B3 of the Novo Mercado.
The effective request for conversion of Santos Brasil’s registration and removal from segment B3 of the Novo Mercado will only be made by CMA Terminals Atlantic SA if the minimum price set out in the independent valuation report – prepared in accordance with applicable regulations – is less than or equal to the price per share of the transaction carried out with Opportunity, duly adjusted by the SELIC rate until the financial settlement of the tender offer. CMA Terminal Atlantic SA reserves the right to waive this condition at its sole discretion until the tender offer is filed with the CVM.
