CPKC, Lanco Group/Mi-Jack sell Panama Canal Railway to APM Terminals

Canadian Pacific Kansas City today announced it and the Lanco Group/Mi-Jack have sold the Panama Canal Railway Co. (PCRC) to APM Terminals, a global terminal operator and an independent division of A.P. Moller-Maersk.

PCRC provides ocean-to-ocean freight and passenger services along the Panama Canal and has been a 50-50 joint venture between CPKC subsidiary Kansas City Southern and Lanco Group/Mi-Jack since its formation in 1998, CPKC officials said in a press release. In 2024, the PCRC generated revenue of $77 million.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

PCRC was formed when it was awarded a concession from the Republic of Panama to reconstruct and operate the Panama Canal Railway, a 47-mile railway located adjacent to the Panama Canal. It is a north-south railway traversing the isthmus of Panama between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and part of Panama's logistics network.

APM Terminals has developed and operated advanced container terminals around the world for more than half a century. The company operates in 60 key locations in 33 countries, employing approximately 33,000 people. In the Americas Region, APM Terminals operates 14 terminals in eight countries.

"We are pleased to have completed this transaction with APM Terminals, a part of A.P. Moller-Maersk, a key strategic partner of CPKC's and major customer of the Panama Canal Railway Co.," said CPKC President and CEO Keith Creel. "The sale of this non-core asset creates value for our shareholders and reflects our commitment to optimize our assets as we focus on growing our core North American rail business through our unrivalled three-nation network connecting Canada, the United States and Mexico."

BofA Securities Inc. and Lazard Freres & Co. are serving as financial advisers to PCRC, CPKC, and Lanco Group/Mi-Jack, and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP is serving as legal counsel.