Maersk Line has its eye on acquiring Hamburg Sud, sources sa
Time: 2016-12-01 14:05
MAERSK Line is interested in acquiring German container shipping line Hamburg Sud to help strengthen its presence in the global trade with Latin America, according to people with knowledge of the matter, reported The Wall Street Journal.
While Maersk has bought or chartered ships from bankrupt Hanjin Shipping, the Danish carrier's last full-scale acquisition was in 2005 when it bought P&O Nedlloyd. Maersk has publicly said it is looking for acquisitions to increase its market share.
The Wall Street Journal last week reported that the owner of Hamburg Sud, the Oetker Group, was discussing a sale of the shipping business as early as this year. A person involved in the matter said the Oetker family will likely make a decision on whether to sell this week.
Hamburg Sud, the world's seventh-biggest container operator in terms of capacity, recorded revenue of US$6.7 billion in 2015. The value of its fleet is around $1.4 billion, according to maritime data provider, VesselsValue. It comprises 130 owned and chartered container ships.
"Hamburg Sud's strong presence in north-south trades makes it attractive to Maersk," chief executive of Copenhagen-based SeaIntelligence Consulting, Lars Jensen, was quoted as saying.
"Maersk sees growth in refrigerated cargo like meat products from Brazil and Argentina and bananas from Ecuador, and teaming up with Hamburg Sud will give it a bigger footprint in that part of the world."
According to Alphaliner, the German shipping line accounts for three per cent of global container capacity, with the ability to transport 600,000 containers. At the end of 2015, the company had nearly 6,000 employees.
While Maersk has bought or chartered ships from bankrupt Hanjin Shipping, the Danish carrier's last full-scale acquisition was in 2005 when it bought P&O Nedlloyd. Maersk has publicly said it is looking for acquisitions to increase its market share.
The Wall Street Journal last week reported that the owner of Hamburg Sud, the Oetker Group, was discussing a sale of the shipping business as early as this year. A person involved in the matter said the Oetker family will likely make a decision on whether to sell this week.
Hamburg Sud, the world's seventh-biggest container operator in terms of capacity, recorded revenue of US$6.7 billion in 2015. The value of its fleet is around $1.4 billion, according to maritime data provider, VesselsValue. It comprises 130 owned and chartered container ships.
"Hamburg Sud's strong presence in north-south trades makes it attractive to Maersk," chief executive of Copenhagen-based SeaIntelligence Consulting, Lars Jensen, was quoted as saying.
"Maersk sees growth in refrigerated cargo like meat products from Brazil and Argentina and bananas from Ecuador, and teaming up with Hamburg Sud will give it a bigger footprint in that part of the world."
According to Alphaliner, the German shipping line accounts for three per cent of global container capacity, with the ability to transport 600,000 containers. At the end of 2015, the company had nearly 6,000 employees.
