Hapag-Lloyd Further Expands Africa Presence with DAL Acquisition

German liner operator Hapag-Lloyd has announced the closing of its acquistion of the container liner business of German carrier Deutsche Afrika-Linien (DAL), further expanding its presence in Africa.

The framework agreement for the aquisition was announced in March and the deal has been approved by all relevant antitrust authorities. Full integration is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2022.

The aquistion will further support Hapag-Lloyd’s strategy to grow in the South African market.

Headquartered in Hamburg, DAL operates four liner services between Europe, South Africa and the Indian Ocean. The company owns one 6,589 TEU container ship and operates a container fleet of around 17,800 owned and leased containers, which will be taken over as part of the acquisition.

In 2021, Hapag-Lloyd acquired Africa-specialised carrier NileDutch, significantly strengthening its presence and service offering to and from West Africa. It also opened several new offices in Africa in 2021 and 2020.

“We are very pleased with the closing of the transaction and looking forward to welcoming the DAL colleagues,” says Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd. “With their broad experience and market knowledge, they will significantly support us to further grow in Africa, which remains an important strategic market for us. We will now fully integrate the DAL’s container liner activities into our business.” Particularly for the service offering from and to South Africa, DAL is a valuable addition, allowing Hapag-Lloyd to offer their customers a better network and additional port coverage in this region.

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