MONTREAL, Que. — Morgan Stanley has announced its infrastructure investment group has entered into an agreement to acquire an 80% interest in Montreal Gateway Terminals from Germany’s TUI, a tourism and shipping group.

Hapag-Lloyd, TUI’s shipping subsidiary, is a major customer of the container terminals and will remain a partner, retaining a 20% stake in Montreal Gateway Terminals.

“We are seeking a broad array of stable infrastructure opportunities, and this investment represents another important step in the build-out of our infrastructure business,” said Sadek Wahba, managing director and responsible for Morgan Stanley’s infrastructure investments.

The Port of Montreal is the third largest North Atlantic container port and serves as a key entry point for trade between Europe and Montreal, Toronto and the Midwest U.S., including Chicago and Detroit.

Montreal Gateway Terminals operates the Racine and the Cast terminals on the St. Lawrence River in Montreal. In 2005, Montreal Gateway Terminals handled 1.1 million TEU, representing 89% of all containers handled in Montreal.

“Montreal is a strategic gateway for both Canada and the Midwestern U.S. markets, and is important to our shipping business,” said Adolf Adrion, member of the executive board of Hapag-Lloyd based in Hamburg. “We are delighted to continue our involvement in the Montreal Gateways Terminals and look forward to working with Morgan Stanley to further develop the business.”