The merger between Hapag-Lloyd and the Chilean Compañía Sud Americana de Vapores (CSAV) has been finalised following approval from all the relevant global authorities and the fulfilment of all condition precedents, Hapag-Lloyd said in a statement.
The deal is expected to result in many synergies, including annual savings of at least US$300m as a result of network optimisations, improvements to productivity and cost reductions.
The new entity will have around 200 vessels with a total capacity of approximately 1m TEUs, transporting some 7.5m TEUs of cargo every year and a combined annual revenue of around US$12bn. It will set up its fourth regional headquarter in Valparaiso, Chile.
“This is a big day for both companies. 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 – and thereby be able to offer our global customers an even more attractive network and wider range of products,” said Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd.
“Our ability to compete will also be significantly enhanced by closing the gap to the top three of our industry.”
He said the company’s immediate priorities are to continue to offer excellent service to all of its customers and to honour all the commitments both companies made whilst planning for the upcoming integration. There will be no major changes to the way the company operates until the transition to the Hapag-Lloyd systems towards the end of the first quarter 2015, he added.
Oscar Hasbún, CEO of CSAV, added: “we are very proud of the fact that our two long-established companies will now become one of the most prominent players in the global container shipping industry and that this company has a firm foothold in Latin America, including our home market of Chile. We fit together perfectly thanks to our complementary network, our customer structure, and our excellent professionalism and reputation”.
In addition to integrating CSAV’s container business into Hapag-Lloyd, there are also plans to strengthen the company by raising capital of €370m by 31 December 2014, in which CSAV will take a share of €259m and Kühne Maritime €111m.
The ownership structure of Hapag-Lloyd AG will therefore change as follows: CSAV will become Hapag-Lloyd’s biggest shareholder with 34 per cent after the cash capital increase. The other shareholders are HGV (23.2 per cent), Kühne Maritime (20.8 per cent), TUI (13.9 per cent), Signal Iduna (3.3 per cent), HSH Nordbank (1.8 per cent), M.M. Warburg (1.8 per cent) and Hanse Merkur (1.1 per cent).
