Posted on 02/16/2007 6:20:44 AM PST by HAL9000
DUBAI — Dubai Ports World, which faced a last-minute snag in selling its US ports, yesterday said it will not budge to the new demand made by New York Port Authority to pay a $84 million transaction fee.Speaking to Khaleej Times from New York, Chairman of Dubai World, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem said: "We have not accepted and we will not accept the huge fee they now demand. However, we are confident that the issue can be resolved as we remain committed to completing the sale as promised."
Although DP World has received approval for the sale of the American port facilities it had acquired through its purchase of P&O assets worldwide, the US Port Authority is now demanding that the company pay as much as $84 million in order to approve the lease transfer to AIG Global Investment Group. The Port Authority is also demanding access to sensitive business information, which both DP World and AIG Global have been reluctant to turn over.
Just what does the transfer of the lease entail?
Tha Families won't be happy with this development. The Sultan may get paid a visit.
Related:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1785212/posts
Dubai Ports Deal Hits Snag with NY-NJ Authority Over Newark Port
New York and New Jersey. Money involved. Case rested.
Isn't the New York Port Authority considered one of the most corrupt governmental organizations in the entire country?
It DOES look to me like this is nothing more than extortion by NY and NJ Port Authorities.
Fed: You may not lease this terminal.Disclaimer: I have not studied this case.
DPW: Shucks. Well, I'll sell my interest, then.
NY: Not before you pay me.
Schumer, Menendez blast Port Authority for holding up Dubai Ports World deal
Senator Charles Schumer Thursday charged the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has created a stumbling block that he said is holding up the completion of the Dubai Ports World deal.
Schumer urged the Port Authority to abandon its request for $84 million as a condition of giving its consent to the deal and called on the Port Authority not to stand in the way of deal with major national security significance.
“We’ve fought long and hard to bring these ports back to U.S. hands after they were sold to Dubai Ports World through a process riddled with flaws, but now that we’re finally on the brink of a sale that will return the ports to a U.S. company, our very own Port Authority of New York/New Jersey is jeopardizing the entire sale,” said Schumer. “The Port Authority needs to back down from this excessive fee and allow this sale to go through. The Port Authority has never demanded this type of fee before, and I’m astounded that they are trying a new experiment with a deal that is so important to our country’s security.”
“The concerns I expressed a year ago are still valid today: A company run and controlled by a foreign government should not run and control the operations of American ports,” Menendez said. “All parties involved in these negotiations should remember that this is not just a business transaction, but also a matter of national security. I urge them to finalize this deal quickly.”
The port holdings in question were initially sold to Dubai Ports World by P & O Ports North America. After considerable concerns were raised in Washington about the process that initially approved the transfers of these ports and terminal operations to foreign ownership, Dubai Ports World agreed to sell off its U.S. acquisitions. In December, Dubai Ports World announced that it had struck a deal to sell the holdings to AIG Global Investment Group. The U.S. operations being sold include seaports and terminal operations in New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Miami, Tampa, Fla., and New Orleans. The Port Authority of New York/New Jersey, which owns the Port Newark Container Terminal slated to go to AIG, must give its consent to the transfer of the lease in order for the deal to close.
Ya know what? GOOD. Let the hysteria mongers that insisted Dubai would be complicit in a possible future terrorist attack via our ports sort it out. Hillary? Chucky?
If they weren't before, demanding an $84,000 dollar kickback ought to earn them the title. Perhaps the Dockworkers can go on strike, THAT always shows them darned foreigners who's boss.
I bet Dubai Ports is glad to not be stuck doing business in NY/NJ after all..
And it's being waved around by the same group of clowns that so damaged the image of the US throughout the Arab world which reported the hysteria as anti-Muslim bigotry and COINCIDENTALLY the same clowns now posturing about the non-invasion of Iran and the troop build up in Iraq. Is this BS about the troop build up possiblity of a possible attack on Iran appeasement for insulting every member of the UAE (which is what happened and is continuing to happen)? I find the coincidence a bit too coincidental.
Great for US-Arab relations...
The "shadowy American company" is AIG, American Insurance Group. There are no more American port operators, so Dubai Ports World had to find an American company willing to get into the ports business.
I rank AIG right up there with Progressive and George Soros.
>>>>extortion by NY and NJ Port Authorities
extortion + Port Authorities
Perfect together.
LOL, very succinct! I didn't know what company was buying Dubai Ports interes thanks for the name - but knew for a fact that there are no American port operators. Amazing. The public will trust our safety to a insurance firm with no experience? So what's the $84 mil....a preemptive deductible payment for the next attack? Amazing. The rat is really stinking now.
You dropped a few zeroes. The demanded "fee" is up to $84,000,000.00. If it were a few measly thousand, it probably wouldn't have been a big deal.
Wow I screwed that up. "Interes" was supposed to be "interests", and please ignore the many punctuation errors. Anyhow, thanks for the name.
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