Done Deal: Hapag-Lloyd and CSAV Complete Merger, Become World’s Fourth Largest Liner Shipping Company

Hapag-Lloyd file photo

Hapag-Lloyd and the Chile’s Compañía Sud Americana de Vapores (CSAV) have completed their long-awaited merger, officially creating the world’s fourth largest container shipping company.

The corresponding contracts for the merger of the two companies were signed back in April in Hamburg and with the approval from all relevant global regulatory authorities, all conditions for the merger have now been fulfilled.

The merger of Hapag-Lloyd AG with the container business activities of the CSAV is expected to result in annual savings of at least US $300 million, Hapag Lloyd said in a statement Tuesday. The merged company will have around 200 vessels with a total capacity of approximately one million TEU, transporting some 7.5 million TEU every year. Hapag Lloyd says a fourth regional headquarter will be set up in Valparaiso, Chile, where CSAV was founded in 1872. Annual revenue is expected to reach US $12 billion, according to Hapag Lloyd.

Rolf Habben Jansen, Chief Executive Officer of Hapag-Lloyd: “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. Our ability to compete will also be significantly enhanced by closing the gap to the top three of our industry”. He continues, “Our immediate priorities now are to continue to offer excellent service to all of our customers and to honor all the commitments both companies made, whilst we plan the upcoming integration. There will be no major changes to the way we work until the transition to the Hapag-Lloyd systems towards the end of the first quarter 2015”.

Oscar Hasbún, CEO of CSAV, adds: “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 raise capital of EUR 370 million by 31 December 2014, in which CSAV will take a share of EUR 259 million and Kühne Maritime EUR 111 million. The ownership structure of Hapag-Lloyd AG will therefore change as follows: CSAV will become Hapag-Lloyd’s biggest shareholder with 34% after the cash capital increase. The other shareholders are HGV (23.2%), Kühne Maritime (20.8%), TUI (13.9%), Signal Iduna (3.3%), HSH Nordbank (1.8%), M.M. Warburg (1.8%) and Hanse Merkur (1.1%).

CSAV, HGV and Kühne Maritime have agreed to pool 51% of the shares in Hapag-Lloyd in order to discuss and make key decisions together in the future. Of this pool structure, CSAV owns a 50% participation, while HGV and Kühne Maritime will own 25% each.

The main processes of integrating CSAV’s container business into Hapag-Lloyd are expected to be completed by the end of the second quarter of 2015.

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