Morgan Stanley announced today that its infrastructure investment group has entered into an agreement to acquire an 80% interest in Montreal Gateway Terminals from Germany’s TUI, a leading tourism and shipping group. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

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.

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. Hapag-Lloyd focuses on global container liner shipping and is one of the top five shipping companies in the world.

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.

“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, in a news release.

“The strategic location combined with a high utilization of the Montreal port provides a particularly stable income profile,” added Ron Lepin who recently joined Morgan Stanley as a Managing Director from Ontario Teachers Pension Plan where he built their infrastructure investment program over the last five years.

“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.”