GERMANY's Hapag-Lloyd and Chile's CSAV have completed their merger, edging out Cosco to become the world's fourth largest container liner shipping line.
The main processes of integrating CSAV's container business into Hapag-Lloyd are expected to be completed by the end of the second quarter of 2015, said the Hapag-Lloyd release.
CSAV will become Hapag-Lloyd's biggest shareholder with 34 per cent after the cash capital increase of EUR370 million (US$458 million).
Once done, ownership will be HGV (23.2 per cent), Kuhne Maritime (20.8 per cent), TUI (13.9 per cent), Signal Iduna (3.3 per cent), HSH Nordbank (1.8 per cent), MM Warburg (1.8 per cent) and Hanse Merkur (1.1 per cent).
"The contracts for the merger of the two companies were signed back in April in Hamburg. With approval from all the relevant authorities all condition precedents were fulfilled," said a statement from Hapag-Lloyd, the trade name of the newly merged entity.
"The merger of Hapag-Lloyd AG with the container business activities of the Chilean shipping company founded in Valparaíso, in 1872, is expected to result in many synergies," said the statement.
"Annual savings of at least US$300 million are anticipated simply as a result of network optimisations, improvements to productivity and reductions in costs.
"The merged company will have 200 vessels with a total capacity of one million TEU, moving 7.5 million TEU a year. With revenue of $12 billion, the combined entity joins the elite group of international shipping companies," said the company statement.
Said Hapag-Lloyd CEO Rolf Habben Jansen: "With Hapag-Lloyd's strength in Asian traffic and on the North Atlantic, combined with CSAV's strong position in Latin America, we will become the leading shipping company in this region."
Mr Jansen said the new company is now able to offer a more attractive network. "Our ability to compete will also be enhanced by closing the gap with the top three of our industry," he said.
"There will be no major changes to the way we work until the transition to the Hapag-Lloyd systems towards the end of the first quarter 2015," said Mr Jansen.
Said CSAV chief executive Oscar Hasbun: "We are proud that our two companies will become one of the most prominent in the global industry. We fit together perfectly thanks to our complementary network and our customer structure."
WORLD SHIPPING
03 December 2014 - 23:15
Hapag-CSAV merger complete, Cosco edged out as 4th biggest box carrier
GERMANY's Hapag-Lloyd and Chile's CSAV have completed their merger, edging out Cosco to become the world's fourth largest container liner shipping line.
WORLD SHIPPING
03 December 2014 - 23:15
Hapag-CSAV merger complete, Cosco edged out as 4th biggest box carrier
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