News / HHLA directors recommends MSC offer to shareholders

Photo: HHLA/Thies Rätzke

MSC moved another step closer to buying a 49% stake in Hamburg terminal and intermodal operator HHLA, after the target’s board formally recommended the Swiss carrier’s offer to shareholders.

Weeks of negotiations between MSC and HHLA and its major shareholder, City of Hamburg – which hold a 67% stake, with the remainder floated on the Frankfurt stock exchange – secured a series of commitments from the shipping line over the future of HHLA.

The talks also saw agreement that the acquisition price, of €16.75 per class A share, was “adequate” and resulted in a business combination agreement being signed.

“The preliminary framework agreement that has been signed addresses the key interests of all HHLA stakeholders,” said Rüdiger Grube, chairman of HHLA’s supervisory board.

“With the agreements reached, we are securing the future viability of HHLA and its business model. As the offer price is deemed adequate following our review, the HHLA supervisory board and the executive board recommend accepting the offer from MSC,” he added.

Among the commitments HHLA managed to secure from both MSC and City of Hamburg include a new injection of €450m equity capital into the company, further minimum investment of €775m to be ploughed into its container terminals and intermodal network between 2025 and 2028, the continuation of HHLA as a common user operator and its “neutrality and independence – in particular of intermodal subsidiary Metrans and the equal treatment of all customers” and a commitment that there will be no redundancies among its workforce for at least five years.

HHLA chief executive Angela Titzrath said: “In particular, we welcome the confirmation of HHLA’s investment planning for the coming years and the additional equity commitment of €450m from the two major shareholders. This gives us considerable additional resources to drive forward HHLA’s successful development into a leading European logistics company even more actively and rapidly, opening up significant development and business opportunities for HHLA, our stakeholders and for Hamburg.

“We have also managed to secure important commitments for our employees.

“In our view, the extensive agreements and MSC’s additional financial commitment underline the attractiveness of HHLA and its strategy, as well as MSC’s sustained interest in a long-term successful development of the company. We are confident that we will be able to also reach a binding agreement with the City of Hamburg and MSC on the remaining points in the coming weeks,” she added.

Under German law the offer period ends on 20 November, and closing the offer remains subject to regulatory approval as well as that of Hamburg’s parliament.