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HAPAG-LLOYD COMPLETES INTEGRATION OF UASC

German shipping giant Hapag-Lloyd has completed the integration of UAE-based counterpart United Arab Shipping Company (UASC) into the group on November 30.

The companies merged on May 24, 2017, and within the subsequent six months, the operating businesses, the IT systems, the different fleets, and the corresponding departments and country organizations were brought together.

“Thanks to the very good cooperation of our teams we have managed to successfully implement this integration in just six months. In the process, our extensive experience from earlier mergers – such as with CP Ships in 2005 and with CSAV in 2014 – helped us a lot,” Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd AG, said.

With a fleet of 215 modern container ships, offering 125 liner services in a global network, Hapag-Lloyd is now the fifth-largest liner shipping company in the world with one of the youngest and most competitive fleets in the sector, the company informed.

Beginning in 2019, Hapag-Lloyd expects annual synergies of USD 435 million as a result of the merger with UASC.

“Already in 2018, we will benefit from the merger of the two shipping companies due to significant cost reductions,” Habben Jansen concluded.

The parties signed a business combination agreement (BCA) in July 2016. Since then the approval was granted from roughly a dozen competition authorities across the world. In addition, changes in the corporate legal structure were made and the consent of several banks was obtained, the German carrier earlier said.

From: https://worldmaritimenews.com/

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HAPAG-LLOYD LAUNCHES NOTES OFFERING

German shipping major Hapag-Lloyd has launched a euro bond offering with a volume of EUR 300 million and a maturity of seven years.

As informed, the proceeds will be used for the early redemption of the company’s euro bond due in 2018 and the early partial redemption of the euro bond due in 2019.

Currently, the redemption is envisaged for October this year, according to Hapag-Lloyd.

On May 24, Hapag-Lloyd closed the merger with the UAE-based liner shipping company United Arab Shipping Company (UASC), expecting annual synergies of USD 435 million from 2019 onwards.

A significant portion of these savings should be realized in the course of 2018, while the full amount is expected to first be reached in 2019, the company earlier said.

UASC’s 58 vessels have been integrated into the fleet of Hapag-Lloyd, with Hapag-Lloyd assuming the fifth spot in terms of capacity with 230 vessels and a shared fleet capacity of approximately 1.6 million TEU.

Source: http://worldmaritimenews.com/

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HAPAG-LLOYD MERGES WITH UNITED ARAB SHIPPING COMPANY

German liner shipping company Hapag-Lloyd and its UAE-based counterpart United Arab Shipping Company (UASC) merged today, Hapag-Lloyd said in a statement.

As informed, the merger between the duo was completed today in Hamburg.

“This is an important strategic milestone and a big step forward for Hapag-Lloyd,” said Rolf Habben Jansen, Chief Executive Officer of Hapag-Lloyd.

“We now not only have a very strong market position in Latin America and the Atlantic, but also in the Middle East, where we will become one of the leading carriers. Our priority now is a smooth and fast integration of UASC and Hapag-Lloyd.” 

According to the international law firm Watson Farley & Williams (WFW), who acted as advisor in the deal, the merger is worth a total of USD 14 billion.

The business combination agreement (BCA) was signed in Hamburg in July 2016. Since then roughly a dozen competition authorities across the world had to grant their approval. In addition, changes in the corporate legal structure were made and the consent of several banks was obtained, the German carrier said.

Now the key focus will be the combination of 118 Hapag-Lloyd services with the 45 services making up UASC’s network.

“This process will start in roughly eight weeks and will take until the end of the third quarter, once the new employees from UASC have been trained to use the Hapag-Lloyd systems. After that UASC’s present transport volume will be handled on Hapag-Lloyd’s IT platform. The combined entity will thereby carry an estimated annual transport volume in excess of 10 million TEU,” Hapag-Lloyd added.

With the closure of the merger, UASC’s 58 vessels will be integrated into the fleet of Hapag-Lloyd. As a result, Hapag-Lloyd will assume the fifth spot in terms of capacity with 230 vessels and a shared fleet capacity of approximately 1.6 million TEU. The combined fleet will have average ship age of 7.2 years.

The shipowner said that it would remain a publicly traded company registered in Germany with its headquarters in Hamburg.

The average size of the vessels in Hapag-Lloyd’s new fleet will be some 6,840 TEU/vessel, approximately 30 percent larger than the average of the top 15 in the industry (5,280 TEU/vessel).

Hapag-Lloyd revealed that it plans to achieve annual synergies of USD 435 million as a result of the merger. A significant portion of these savings should be realized in the course of 2018, while the full amount is expected to first be reached in 2019.

“In addition to the synergies we expect that it will not be necessary to make sizeable investments in newbuildings over the next few years. Hapag-Lloyd will establish a new regional headquarters for the Region Middle East. This will add a fifth Region to the existing Regions North America, Latin America, Asia and Europe,” the company further noted.

Taking into account the fact that Hapag-Lloyd has considerable experience when it comes to acquisitions-CP Ships in 2005 and CSAV in 2014, Rolf Habben Jansen voiced his optimism that the company will be able to complete the integration of UASC by the end of this year.

The two majority shareholders of UASC, Qatar Investment Authority, through its subsidiary Qatar Holding LLC, and the Public Investment Fund of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (PIF), will become new key shareholders of Hapag-Lloyd.

The other UASC shareholders are the Kuwait Investment Authority on behalf of the state of Kuwait, the Iraqi Fund for External Development (IFED), the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, which will be reflected with a combined 3.6% of the shares of Hapag-Lloyd as free float shares.

The ownership structure of Hapag-Lloyd AG before the forthcoming cash capital increase, planned after the merger, is as follows (figures rounded): CSAV (22.6%), HGV (14.8%), Kühne Maritime (14.6%), Qatar Holding (14.4%), PIF (10.1%) and TUI (8.9%). The free float will amount to roughly 14.6%.

“Within six months after the closing, a cash capital increase by way of a rights issue is planned for Hapag-Lloyd AG in order to strengthen the company. This will be secured via a backstop commitment in the amount of USD 400 million that some of the controlling shareholders have agreed to,” the statement further reads.

Shareholders will be asked to approve a corresponding appropriate authorized capital at the Annual General Meeting of Hapag-Lloyd, to be held on May 29 in Hamburg, the company added.

Source: http://worldmaritimenews.com/

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BUNKER PRICES AFFECT HAPAG-LLOYD’S RESULT

German shipping major Hapag-Lloyd finished the first three months of the current financial year with a positive operating result, in spite of higher bunker prices.

Although the company’s EBITDA improved by 6.4% to EUR 131.3 million from last year’s EUR 123.4 million, Hapag-Lloyd informed that its net loss widened to EUR -62.1 million from EUR -42.8 million seen in the same quarter in 2016.

Hapag-Lloyd said that the first-quarter result “was noticeably affected by ongoing bunker price increases.” At 313 USD/tonne, the average bunker price was clearly above the previous year’s figure of 197 USD/tonne, representing the highest level seen since June 2015.

The transport volume increased by 6.8% year-on-year to more than 1.9 million TEU from 1.8 million TEU handled in the same period a year earlier. While the average freight rate was USD 20 lower than in the first quarter of the previous year at 1,047 USD/TEU, there were further signs of a slight upward curve compared with the past quarters, according to the company.

The greater transport volume and exchange rate effects pushed revenue up by 10.4% to EUR 2.13 billion from EUR 1.93 billion seen in the corresponding period in 2016.

Rate increases were introduced in a number of trades even though the industry environment remains challenging, but these rate increases “are only going to have an impact on the company’s result later in the year,” Hapag-Lloyd said.

“Our activities in the first quarter focused on preparations for the merger with UASC and on the launch of our new alliance. The launch of the THE Alliance went well, and the merger with UASC will be closed shortly,” Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd AG, said.

“After the closing our priority will be to integrate UASC into Hapag-Lloyd quickly and to realize initial synergies from the merger,” Jansen added.

The merger with the Arabian liner shipping company is expected to generate annual savings of USD 435 million from 2019 onwards, with a large proportion of this already to be achieved in 2018, according to the company.

Source: http://worldmaritimenews.com/

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HAPAG-LLOYD ADDS FOUR NEW INTRA-MEDITERRANEAN, BLACK SEA SERVICES

German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd has decided to launch four new services within the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. 

The services in question are the TPS Service, the TBS Service, the WBS Service and the GTS Service and they are expected to commence on May 1, 2017.

With the first sailing of MV Diane A ex Istanbul on May 3, the TPS Sevice will have the following port rotation: Istanbul (Mardas & Kumport & Marport) – Gemlik (Borusan) – Istanbul (Kumport & Marport) – Poti – Samsun – Istanbul (Mardas & Kumport & Marport).

The second service, the TBS Service is scheduled to start on May 4 with the first sailing of MV MSC Kreta ex Istanbul.

Port rotation of the TBS Service will be as follows: Istanbul (Kumport & Marport & Mardas) – Burgas – Varna – Istanbul (Kumport & Marport & Mardas).

The WBS Service is planned to commence on May 9 with the first sailing of MV Alegri ex Varna.

The WBS Service will have the following port rotation: Istanbul (Marport) – Varna – Constanta – Istanbul (Marport) – Gemlik (Borusan) – Piraeus (eff. end of May) – Tangier – Casablanca – Piraeus (eff. end of May) – Gemlik (Borusan) – Istanbul (Marport).

The fourth service, the GTS Service, is to start also on May 9 with the first sailing of MV Jean – Pierre A ex Istanbul.

Port rotation of the GTS Service will be as follows: Haifa – Ashdod – Antalya – Istanbul (Kumport & Marport & Mardas) – Evyap – Gemlik – Istanbul (Kumport & Marport & Mardas) – Piraeus – Thessaloniki – Izmir – Haifa.

Last week, Hapag-Lloyd also revised its Black Sea-Mediterranean Express Service (BMX Service).

The new port rotation of the BMX Service will be as follows: Piraeus – Istanbul (Kumport & Marport) – Novorossiysk – Odessa – Constanta – Istanbul (Kumport & Marport) – Piraeus.

The revised BMX Service is scheduled to start on May 7 with the first sailing of MV Louisa Schulte from Piraeus.

Source: http://worldmaritimenews.com/