News / Rates boom and alliance shake-up strengthen objections to HMM sale

It appears that the Red Sea crisis and Hapag-Lloyd’s imminent break from THE Alliance are adding weight to calls for HMM’s sale to South Korean poultry processor Harim Group to be delayed.

Last month, HMM’s largest shareholders, state-controlled Korea Development Bank (KDB) and Korea Ocean Business Corp (KOBC), chose a consortium of Harim and PE firm JKL Partners as the preferred bidder for the carrier.

HMM came under state control in 2016 after swapping debt for equity to avert bankruptcy. In 2021, ...