Maersk Line closes acquisition of Hamburg Süd to give it 19.3% market share

Maersk Line has closed its acquisition of Hamburg Süd one year after it announced it planned to buy the privately owned German container line for EUR3.7bn.
The acquisition was closed on 30 November following approval on Tuesday from the Korean Fair Trade Commission the last of approvals the merger required in some 23 jurisdictions.

The acquisition which will reconfirm Maersk’s position as the world’s largest container line with 4.13m teu in capacity and a market share of 19.3%. The Danish line expects to reap operational synergies of $350m – $400m from 2019.

With the final approval of the acquisition we have reached an important milestone in our strategy to become an integrated transport and logistics company delivering sustainable growth. These are truly exciting times and we are looking forward to taking the first steps forward as one company, said Søren Skou, ceo of AP Moller – Maersk.

Maersk plans to keep Hamburg Süd as a separate entity and Arnt Vespermann will be taking over as ceo of the German line.

Becoming part of the world’s number one shipping company will create a lot of opportunities. We will strengthen Hamburg Süd in the global playing field and grow our market share together. At the same time, Hamburg Süd will continue serving our customers as a separate brand, said Vespermann.

With the closing of Maersk’s acquisition of Hamburg Süd the only major merger that remains to be completed in the container sector is the Japanese merger of the container lines of NYK, Mitsui OSK Lines and K Line into Ocean Network Express (ONE), which is expected to be operational next year.

Source: www.seatrade-maritime.com