Germany's Hapag-Lloyd and Chile's Compañía Sud Americana de Vapores (CSAV) are officially joining forces, with CSAV's container business activities merging into Hapag-Lloyd to create the world's fourth-largest liner shipping company.
The merger comes following the signing of contracts between the two carriers in April in Hamburg, and was subject to approval from relevant global authorities, which has now been granted.
According to CSAV, the merger will allow the two companies to consolidate considerably, with efficiency improvements and network optimisations expecting to provide at least US$300 million in cost reductions. Additionally, a fourth regional headquarters will be set up in Valparaiso, Chile.
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 and collecting an annual revenue of around US$12 billion.
Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd, said the merger would combine Hapag-Lloyd's strength in Asia and on the North Atlantic with CSAV's strong position in Latin America.
Mr Jansen also said there would be no major changes until the transition over to Hapag-Lloyd's systems towards the end of the first quarter of 2015.
In addition to integrating CSAV's container business into Hapag-Lloyd, there are also plans to raise 370 million Euros (US$455 million) in capital by the end of 2014. This will enable CSAV to become Hapag-Lloyd's biggest shareholder, with a 34 per cent stake following the capital increase.
The main processes of integrating CSAV's container business into Hapag-Lloyd are due to be completed by the end of the second quarter of 2015.
Image Source: Phil Sangwell
