European terminal capacity is being bought up by larger operators and their investment arms. On 6 November, Hapag-Lloyd completed a 25% stake in Rotterdam's Maasvlakte II container terminal2. On 5 November, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) agreed to buy Evos, Europe's second-largest independent liquid storage operator, for €2.56 billion1, 4. A.P. Moller Capital has also agreed to buy Portek and take control of Euroports3.
For liquid bulk buyers, the Evos deal is the one that changes who stands behind the counterparty. Evos runs 6.3 million cubic metres of tank capacity across eight terminals in the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Belgium and Malta1, 4. The terminals sit in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) hub, Hamburg and the Mediterranean. The platform has 452 tanks, 63 vessel and barge berths and pipeline links to Schiphol airport and the Central Europe Pipeline System1.
The business is close to full. Average commercial occupancy was 99%, and a substantial share of revenue came from take-or-pay and CPI-linked contracts1. gCaptain reported that much of the revenue is supported by long-term contracts5. Evos handled 37 million tonnes in 2025 and reported revenue of €392 million and EBITDA of €219 million, a 56% margin1.
What is new is the owner. Evos is moving from an infrastructure fund to a port operator. Igneo describes itself as a global infrastructure manager and the direct infrastructure team of First Sentier Group6. APSEZ handles more than 140 types of liquid cargo. Chief executive Ashwani Gupta said the company was considering liquid terminals because "ports tomorrow may be a gateway to energy transition"7.
A strategic owner with its own cargo
The deal gives APSEZ a European foothold and takes the group from 20 to 28 ports and terminals across 10 countries4. APSEZ said the purchase scales and diversifies its liquids portfolio and adds high-margin, predictable hard-currency cash flows1. The product mix spans gasoline, gasoil, marine fuels and jet fuel, plus sustainable aviation fuel, biofuels, methanol and bioethanol1.
The price reflects the quality of the cash flow. APSEZ agreed to pay 11.7 times Evos's calendar 2025 EBITDA, with equity of €1.18 billion1, 4. The Loadstar framed the bid as a test of whether APSEZ pays for returns or size8. The company has walked away from assets before: Gupta said Associated British Ports did not meet its return-on-capital expectations7.
The deal is debt funded. MUFG is sole underwriter with financing commitments of up to €2.8 billion1. Pro forma net debt to EBITDA is 2.76 times, which APSEZ expects to fall to around 2.5 times by FY271. Completion needs regulatory approvals and works council consultation1. BusinessLine reported an indicative timeline of 15 months; gCaptain said no closing date was announced4, 5.
Other terminal owners are moving too
The Evos sale lands alongside other terminal ownership moves. On 6 November, Hapag-Lloyd completed the purchase of a 25% stake in APM Terminals Maasvlakte II in Rotterdam, with APM Terminals keeping 75% and operational control2. The terminal is expanding towards about 5.4 million TEU of annual capacity. TEU is the standard 20-foot container. Hapag-Lloyd's terminal arm holds stakes in 24 marine terminals and aims for about 30 investments by 20302.
At Maersk's parent group, A.P. Moller Capital agreed on 15 October to buy Portek International from Mitsui & Co, after agreeing on 28 September to take control of Euroports3. Euroports has more than 50 deep-sea and inland terminals across 10 European countries and China and handles more than 70 million metric tons a year3. Financial terms for both deals were not disclosed3.
The buyers differ, but the direction is the same. An infrastructure manager, a carrier and a port operator are all putting capital into European terminal capacity1, 3, 2.
The questions storage customers should ask
For a cargo owner with tanks or throughput at an Evos terminal, the tanks stay put and the owner behind the contract changes. The contract terms decide whether anything else changes, so they deserve a close read before renewal talks.
Start with assignment and change of control. Does the agreement require customer consent for a transfer? Can either side terminate on notice? Which company guarantees performance after closing? A written answer is worth more than an assurance from a commercial manager.
Then take-or-pay mechanics. Customers should check minimum volume commitments, tolerance bands, make-up rights for unused capacity and what happens if a berth or pipeline link is unavailable. Those terms decide whether a slowdown at the terminal becomes a cost at the buyer's plant.
Indexation comes next. A substantial share of Evos's revenue is CPI-linked1. Ask which index, which reference month and whether there is a cap or floor, then model the reset before signing.
Finally, access. Evos's 63 berths and pipeline links are the parts of the system customers depend on1. Ask how berth windows, pipeline slots and tank allocation will be handled after closing, and whether priority rights survive the sale.
What to watch before completion
Approvals and works council consultation come first, and the timeline runs to about 15 months on BusinessLine's account4. Contracts that renew before closing will be negotiated with Evos under Igneo ownership; those that renew after will sit with Evos under APSEZ ownership.
Three signals matter. First, whether competition authorities attach conditions. Second, whether APSEZ keeps Evos's commercial team and brand. Third, whether the new owner announces tank expansions or re-purposing for transition fuels. Buyers should ask about all three in writing.
Until then, the practical stance is to assume continuity of operations but not of terms. A storage contract that was priced when an infrastructure fund owned the tanks may look different when a strategic operator with its own cargo interests owns them.
For procurement teams, the ownership change is a contract event before it is a rate event. The work starts with the clause book, not the rate card.