Alaska acquisitions, upgrades exceed $700 million for shipper Matson

Alaska Dispatch News
By: Alex DeMarban

A Hawaii-based transportation company has spent more than $700 million to enter the Alaska market over two years by buying up freight companies and upgrading facilities — just as the state's economy was souring and business was drooping.

But officials with Matson on Tuesday said they are taking a long view and are ready to jump at new opportunities in Alaska, including a rebound in oil patch activity if prices rise or, more remotely, if Alaska's giant gas-export project enters construction.

Matson, a 135-year-old company headquartered in Honolulu, has long served Hawaii and other Pacific Ocean locales. It snapped up Horizon Lines' Alaska operations in 2015 and acquired cargo hauler Span Alaska in 2016. The purchases totaled $669 million.

Read the full story here:
https://www.adn.com/business-economy/2017/05/23/alaska-acquisitions-upgrades-exceed-700-million-for-shipper-matson/