Hamburg investors acquired Hapag

The European Commission (EC) has approved applications for joint ownership of Hapag-Lloyd by a group of Hamburg investors, including Kuehne Holding, as well as German travel giant, TUI, which sold its controlling interest to the group, Exim News Service said.

The approval removed the last hurdle to the 4.45-billion euro ($ 5.7-billion) sale of the world’s fifth largest container line, which is expected to be concluded within a month. TUI, which sold its wholly-owned subsidiary to the Hamburg investors, then contracted to buy 33 per cent of the new company for $ 910 million.

Recently, TUI said it was also considering giving Hapag-Lloyd a loan after the deal was closed because of banking troubles that had emerged in the course of the financial crisis, which had deepened after terms of the sale were established.

The EC is now satisfied that European competition would not be greatly impeded by the deal, saying, Examination of the proposed transaction showed that the horizontal overlaps of the activities of the parties are very limited.

Source: Transportweekly