Maersk Line to set a new milestone
Hamburg Süd is the world’s seventh largest container shipping line and a leader in the North–South trades. The company operates 130 container vessels with a container capacity of 625,000 TEU. It has 5,960 employees in more than 250 offices across the world and market its services through the Hamburg Süd, CCNI (based in Chile) and Aliança (based in Brazil) brands. In 2015, Hamburg Süd had a turnover of USD 6,726 million of which USD 6,261 million stems from its container line activities.
“Today is a new milestone in Maersk Line’s history. Hamburg Süd is a very well-run and highly respected company with strong brands, dedicated employees and loyal customers. It complements Maersk Line and together we can offer our customers the best of two worlds, first of all in the North – South trades,” Søren Skou, CEO of Maersk Line and the Maersk Group, said in a press conference.
“Giving up our engagement in shipping after an 80 year-long ownership in Hamburg Süd was not an easy decision for my family. We are very confident, though, to have chosen the best of all possible partners,” said Dr. August Oetker, Chairman of the Advisory Board of Dr. August Oetker KG, the management holding company of the Oetker Group.
In the combined network, Hamburg Süd and Maersk Line’s customers will have access to the dedicated end-to-end services provided by Hamburg Süd in the North–South trades as well as the flexibility and reach provided in Maersk Line’s global network. Furthermore, it will enable Maersk Line to develop new products with more direct port calls and shorter transit times.
“Our combined network will provide exciting opportunities to develop new products and exploit operational synergies. Hamburg Süd and Maersk Line customers will benefit from more choice and better products,” concluded Søren Skou.
The acquisition is subject to a satisfactory due diligence, final agreement and subject to regulatory approval in amongst others China, Korea, Australia, Brazil, the United States and the EU. Maersk Line will work closely with the authorities. Maersk Line expects the regulatory process to last until the end of 2017. Until then, Hamburg Süd and Maersk Line will continue business as usual.
With the acquisition, Maersk Line will have container capacity of around 3.8 million TEU (3.1 million TEU) and an 18.6% (15.7%) global capacity share. The combined fleet will consist of 741 container vessels with an average age of 8.7 years (9.2 years).
