A proposed merger between Hapag-Lloyd and the Chilean Compañía Sud Americana de Vapores (CSAV) is now complete, allowing CSAV´s container business activities to be combined with Hapag-Lloyd, making it the fourth-largest liner shipping company in the world.
The container lines received approval from Brazil without any restrictions in early November 2014.
This was promptly followed by authorisation from Mexico.
According to a company press release, annual savings of at least US$300 million are anticipated as a result of network optimisations, improvements to productivity and a reduction in costs.
The merged company will have around 200 vessels with a total capacity of approximately one million TEU, transporting around 7.5 million TEU every year.
The merged liners will set up a fourth regional HQ in Valparaiso, Chile.
With revenue of around US$12 billion, the combined entity will join the elite group of international shipping companies.
Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd, said: “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 [liner].”
Hapag-Lloyd-CSAV Merger Complete. (Source: 7 Sea Vessels)
