AIG Global becoming official operator in Tampa
When the Tampa Port Authority board meets January 16, one of its legal housekeeping-type actions will represent the beginning of a new era of sorts.
The board is scheduled to assign the container and breakbulk terminal management agreements it has with P&O Port Florida Inc. to AIG Global Investment Group, which acquired the assets of P&O Ports North America, the parent of the local company formed for Tampa. AIG Global is the investment arm of American International Group, the largest insurance company in the U.S. that added the ports management company to its portfolio.
P&O Ports was under British ownership when the port chose it to manage the terminals previously managed by Seattle-based SSA Marine. But when Dubai Ports World won a months-long bidding contest to acquire P&O Ports worldwide operations last February, it ignited a firestorm of protests in the U.S. DP World subsequently agreed to sell P&O's U.S. assets to an American company.