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DENVER-A high-level official in the locally based Broe Cos. tells GlobeSt.com that the company is considering making an offer to operate the portion of the six US ports that Dubai Ports World has agreed to sell. This follows the overwhelming political and public outcry regarding a Middle Eastern company being in control of US ports.

The Broe source says the company is uniquely qualified because it is one of the few US companies that actually owns a port. The Broe Cos. has more than $1 billion in assets in commercial real estate, short-line railroads, industrial land, energy, pain management and assisted living communities.

Its principal, Pat Broe, is extremely private and seldom speaks with the press. When, for example, the New York Times wrote a front-page story about one of Broe's holdings--the Port in Churchill, Manitoba--Broe declined to comment.