The board of shipping firm Maersk Line has approved the purchase of German shipping line Hamburg Süd and announced key organizational changes ahead of its takeover in the fourth quarter of 2017.
The buyout of Hamburg Süd by Maersk is one of the most high-profile consolidations in the sector, and will see Maersk acquire the world’s seventh-largest container shipping line, expanding Maersk’s fleet to 743 container vessels. Maersk will acquire Hamburg Süd from the Oetker Group for €3.7 billion on a cash and debt-free basis.
Maersk said Ottmar Gast will retire as chairman of the executive board and become chairman of the supervisory board of Hamburg Süd. Jakob Wegge-Larsen and Arnt Vespermann of Maersk will join Hamburg Süd’s executive board and Søren Toft will join the supervisory board. Frank Smet will continue as member of the executive board of Hamburg Süd.
“We have strong confidence in the Hamburg Süd management board and like to thank Ottmar Gast for his continued and valuable involvement after closing. We also look forward to welcoming all our future colleagues into the Maersk family and together build an even stronger company” said Søren Skou, Maersk Line CEO.
Although predominantly focused on container traffic, Maersk has positioned its special cargo division as an “integral” part of the project cargo sector and fostered plans to switch breakbulk loads from multipurpose vessel to container ships.
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Source: Maersk Line
