US company Cerberus linked to potential Darwin Port buyout

A potential buyer has been identified for Darwin Port – but any deal won’t be easy. Read the latest.

A potential overseas buyer has emerged for Darwin Port.

The Australia is reporting New York-based Cerberus Capital Management will make a formal offer in coming days to buy the port from Chinese-owned Landbridge group.

A Landbridge spokesman told the NT News “Landbridge were not looking for a buyer”.

The Australian claims Cerberus will make a formal offer in coming days to buy the port from Landbridge Group’s billionaire owner, Ye Cheng, described as an associate of senior Chinese Communist Party figures.

It said Cerberus would offer more than the $506 million Landbridge paid to secure the 99-year lease back in 2015, but well short of the $1.3 billion attributed to Landbirdge to offload the asset.

Landbridge Darwin non-executive director Terry O’Connor said nothing had changed since the port was a political football during the federal election campaign.

Chinese ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian in Darwin last week. Picture: Thomas McLean

One Friday in late April, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was forced to scramble to try and gazump his rival Peter Dutton to be the first to announce Darwin Port would be returned to Australian hands.

Landbridge Darwin non-executive director Terry O’Connnor said the company’s view was unchanged.

“The port perspective is we’re continuing on, business as usual,” Mr O’Conner said.

“Nothing has changed from our perspective. We understand the media interest in this but really we’ve had nothing given to us, approached to us or anything that we would consider negotiation or anything else.

“The port position remains unchanged. We’re not looking for a buyer.”

Visiting Darwin last week, Chinese ambassador Ziao Qian said the port had “great potential” and the Chinese Government wanted it retained.

“I came here yesterday and immediately after my arrival I made a trip to the port with my colleague from Landbridge,” he said.

“The Chinese Landbridge Group from Shandong province has made tremendous contributions to the Northern Territory since the leasing.

“For the past 10 years, Landbridge has invested over $83 million to maintain, upgrade facilities … and improve all cargo operations.

Terry O'Connor non-executive director Landbridge.

“There’s great potential there for the development, and these efforts have significantly boosted the port’s handling capacity, with annual gross registered tonnage of vessel visits coming to the port increasing by 95.7 per cent — from 16 million tonnes to more than 31 million tonnes.

“Landbridge has actively fulfilled social responsibility by participating in and generously sponsoring quite a number of community initiatives in the Darwin area.

“I want to congratulate Landbridge for your tremendous progress and contribution … to the beautiful [NT].

“Not only between China and Darwin, but also a new connection point, connecting China and Asia with the rest of Australia,” he said.

“It’s my hope that the [NT] government will continue to provide a fair, just and transparent non-discriminatory business environment for enterprises investing in them and operating in the Territory – including the Chinese enterprises.”

A spokesman for Solomon MP Luke Gosling said the government would pursue the transfer of the port back into Australian hands.

“We’ve been clear that we think the Port of Darwin should never have been flogged off by the previous Liberal government in the first place,” he said.

“Labor wants to see the Port of Darwin return to Australian hands – that’s what we committed to during the election.

“We’ll work through that process methodically.”

Originally published as US company Cerberus linked to potential Darwin Port buyout