A company spokesman confirmed Tuesday that Carlyle Infrastructure Partners, a Carlyle Group fund, submitted a bid before a state-imposed deadline at the end of the business day Monday. The Carlyle spokesman, Chris Ullman, said the company would not disclose any information about its proposal beyond the fact that it had been filed. Secretary of Transportation Sean Connaughton said late Monday that the
state had received two bidders, but would not disclose the “identities of the proposers or the scope of their proposals until we have had an
opportunity to perform the responsiveness check and to brief the Virginia Port Authority board on August 22.”
Ryan Pedraza, a program manager in the state office that reviews public-private partnership proposals, said Monday that staffers want
to perform an initial vetting to see if proposals meet state requirements before disclosing company names. He added that nothing prevents a bidder from announcing that it has submitted proposals.
The latest two proposals come three months after the state announced an initial bid from APM Terminals to run state port facilities in
Norfolk, Newport News and Portsmouth. APM is a division of Danish conglomerate A.P. Moller Maersk and owns a state-of-the-art container terminal in Portsmouth.
After receiving APM’s bid, which the company said would last 48 years and be worth between $3.1 billion and $3.9 billion in today’s dollars,
the state sought competing proposals. The Carlyle Group is familiar with Virginia’s terminals, having been one of three companies who unsuccessfully bid to run them in 2009.
Of the other two companies, CenterPoint Properties, which is based in Chicago and runs a warehouse and distribution facility in Suffolk, did
not pursue a bid. An executive at the third company, Seattle terminal operator Carrix, declined to discuss a potential deal last week. Another terminal operator, Jersey City, N.J.,-based Ports America, was rumored to be considering a bid in 2009. A spokeswoman for the company wouldn’t say if Ports America was a bidder. The Virginia Maritime Association, which represents hundreds of port-related businesses, issued a resolution calling for transparent bid process.
Art Moye, the group’s executive vice president, said, “We know there are certain aspects that have to be kept confidential in a bidding process, but the process should be as transparent as possible and strive for what’s best for the commonwealth long term.”
“It shouldn’t be a process of instant gratification or of short-term gain, long-term pain.”
The resolution says the group would oppose any change in the port’s structure that “creates the fact or appearance of one steamship line
having been given a competitive advantage over its competitors.” A number of ocean lines have objected to APM’s proposal, saying it
would give a competitive advantage to Maersk Line, the world’s largest ocean carrier, and like APM a business unit of A.P. Moller Maersk.
APM tried to address those concerns by adding contract language in which it pledges to treat all carriers fairly, and allows for
independent audits to ensure fair practices. But Moye said many association members are not convinced.
“(APM) says we’ll be fair and equitable,” he said. “It may be a sincere gesture, but what recourse would a port customer or port user
have if they don’t comply with that?”