Just under a year after Maersk Line announced its intention to acquire Hamburg Süd, the last of the regulatory approvals – in 23 jurisdictions – was achieved this week with the approval of the acquisition by the Korea Fair Trade Commission.
"With the final approval of the acquisition we have reached an important milestone in our strategy to become an integrated transport and logistics company delivering sustainable growth. These are truly exciting times and we are looking forward to taking the first steps forward as one company," said Søren Skou, CEO of A.P. Moller-Maersk.
He pointed out that the acquisition was in line with Maersk Line's growth strategy. “It represents a unique opportunity to realise commercial opportunities as well as sizable operational synergies. Combined, the two companies will be able to realise operational synergies in the region of US$350-400 million annually from 2019,” Skou commented.
He explained that, upon transfer of ownership, Dr Ottmar Gast would retire as chairman of the executive board of Hamburg Süd to become the new chairman of the supervisory board of Hamburg Süd. Søren Toft, chief operating officer, A.P. Moller-Maersk, will become board member of the supervisory board. The new Hamburg Süd CEO will be Dr Arnt Vespermann.
"Becoming part of the world's number one shipping company will create a lot of opportunities. We will strengthen Hamburg Süd in the global playing field and grow our market share together. At the same time, Hamburg Süd will continue serving our customers as a separate brand," said Arnt Vespermann.
Together, Maersk Line and Hamburg Süd will have a total container capacity of 4.15 million TEUs and a 19.3% global fleet capacity share, according to Alphaliner. With 105 Hamburg Süd vessels to be integrated into the fleet of MaerskLine, the combined fleet will include a total of 773 vessels.
