The logistics map of the Central Atlantic gains new prominence following the announcement of a global strategic alliance that places Spanish ports under the spotlight of major investment funds. The French shipping company CMA CGM, the third-largest maritime operator in the world, and the U.S. firm Stonepeak, specializing in infrastructure, have sealed the creation of United Ports LLC, a joint venture that starts with an initial investment of 2.4 billion dollars and includes a package of critical assets in the Iberian Peninsula.
The move indirectly puts Tenerife and the rest of the Canary archipelago on the radar of these large operations. The consolidation of this network of terminals along the Algeciras-Sevilla axis strengthens the connectivity of the Atlantic facade, where the Canary ports serve as a natural link to Africa and America. As CMA CGM’s investment capacity is bolstered by this liquidity injection —which the shipping company plans to reinvest in the growth of its supply chain—, the door opens for future expansions of the joint venture to look southward, aiming to enhance strategic stopover points along Atlantic routes.
This financial operation marks Stonepeak’s entry with a 25% stake in ten of the most strategic CMA CGM terminals worldwide. The agreement has a direct impact on the Spanish port system, as the new entity will manage key infrastructures in Algeciras (TTI), Valencia, and Bilbao (CSP), in addition to the Maritime Terminal of the Guadalquivir in Sevilla. The emergence of this New York-based venture capital, which manages assets worth 80 billion dollars, confirms the international markets’ appetite for transport assets that, due to their geographical location, are impossible to replicate.
The agreement does not stop at current assets. Stonepeak has reserved the opportunity to contribute up to an additional 3.6 billion dollars for future joint projects, which ensures a financial boost for the development of state-of-the-art port infrastructures. With the transaction’s closing expected in the second half of 2026, the Spanish logistics sector is preparing for a phase of greater competitiveness, where the efficiency and technology of southern European ports and the islands will be crucial to attract the flow of goods now backed by one of the world’s most powerful infrastructure funds.
