In a case of terminal superlatives, the world’s largest asset manager could back a bid by the world’s biggest container line to buy the busiest container terminal at the top U.S. East Coast port.
BlackRock, the New York-based investment manager, could partner with Mediterranean Shipping Co. to purchase Maher Terminals, which handles more than a third of all box traffic moving through the Port of New York-New Jersey, sources told FreightWaves.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey recently signed a 33-year lease extension through 2063 with Macquarie Group, the Australian investor that acquired a controlling interest in Maher from Deutsche Bank in 2016 through its Macquarie Asset Management unit. The port subsidiary of Japan’s NYK Line holds a 20% share in Maher. An agency spokesman referred questions to Macquarie, which also owns Long Beach Container Terminal (LBCT) in California.
Maher processed more than 3 million twenty foot equivalent units (TEUs) of New York’s total 8.7 million TEUs in 2024, making it the busiest terminal at the port complex.
An executive with knowledge of the prospective deal confirmed a price of $3 billion for Maher, and that the lease extension spurred interest from prospective buyers, including private infrastructure fund managers. The executive added that the process is not yet underway and no timeline has been established for a sale.
Macquarie’s stake in Maher is through private infrastructure fund Macquarie Infrastructure Partners III, managed by Macquarie Asset Management. The sale of Maher and other investments coincides with the end of the fund’s term in 2030.
The Maher sale won’t affect Macquarie-owned LBCT, International Transportation Service in Long Beach, and TraPac at the Port of Los Angeles.
The Maher sale was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Ocean carrier Hapag-Lloyd of Germany (HLAG.DE), and terminal operators PSA International of Singapore and Dubai’s DP World are reportedly interested in Maher, the only New York terminal not controlled by ocean carriers.
BlackRock (NYSE: BLK), with $11-$12 trillion under management, emerged as a factor in global maritime infrastructure in 2025 when it teamed with MSC’s Terminal Investment Limited to buy most of the terminals business of Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison (0001.HK) for $23 billion. Beijing later blocked the deal which included terminals at the Panama Canal, demanding a controlling stake for state-owned carrier Cosco (1919.HK).
A BlackRock spokesman said the company had no comment on the Maher report, or the Hutchison deal.