Hapag-Lloyd and UASC have signed a ‘Business Combination Agreement’ which will see the two companies merge, subject to regulatory and contractual approval.
The newly combined entity, branded as Hapag-Lloyd, will operate 237 container vessels with a capacity of around 1.6m TEUs. It will transport around 10m TEUs per year and its revenues will amount to approximately $12bn.
The combined company will remain a registered and stock listed company in Germany with its head office in Hamburg. CSAV, HGV (City of Hamburg) and Kühne Maritime will remain controlling shareholders of Hapag-Lloyd. The majority shareholders of UASC, Qatar Holding LLC and The Public Investment Fund of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (PIF), will become new key shareholders of Hapag-Lloyd, holding 14% and 10% respectively.
Following regulatory and contractual approvals, the merger is expected to be completed by the end of 2016. Until then, UASC and Hapag-Lloyd will continue to operate as stand-alone companies.
Following the merger, the new entity will be the largest player in a shipping alliance named ‘THE Alliance’, which will consist of Hanjin, Hapag-Lloyd, K-Line, Mitsui O.S.K Lines, Nippon Yusen Kaisha and Yang Ming. THE Alliance is scheduled to commence operating in April 2017 and will cover all East-West trade lanes including Asia-Middle East/Arabian Gulf and Red Sea.
