Court OKs Port Deal With Dubai

The contentious takeover of a British shipping company by Dubai’s state-owned Dubai Ports World received the green light Monday when Britain’s Court of Appeal dismissed a Miami firm’s objection to the deal.

The Court of Appeal declined to hear an appeal from Miami-based Eller & Co., which had tried to have the deal barred on technical grounds, arguing that U.S. concerns about a United Arab Emirates company operating some of the shipping terminals in six U.S. seaports could harm its business.

The lower High Court had approved the $6.8-billion acquisition of Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co., and Monday’s unanimous decision by the three judges of the Court of Appeal means that the deal is free to proceed.

In a statement after the decision, P&O; said the takeover would be completed Wednesday. The deal was originally due to close last Thursday, but Eller’s last-minute petition resulted in an extended three-day hearing in the High Court, which must give approval for the takeover to proceed.

Eller said after the ruling that it was disappointed but did not intend to appeal the judgment. However, it said it would continue to pursue legal action in the U.S. courts in Florida.

P&O; runs cargo terminals in New Jersey, Baltimore, New Orleans, Miami and Philadelphia, and a cruise-ship terminal in New York -- a fact that has caused unease among some U.S. lawmakers and businesses over security.

Dubai Ports World has attempted to defuse some of the tension by saying that the U.S. ports would remain separate from the overall deal and by submitting to a 45-day investigation by the U.S. government, despite having already received regulatory approval.