In the bidding deadline three days before, sources said that THE alliance member Hapg-Lloyd (Hapag-Lloyd) in the acquisition of South Korea's flagship liner company Han Xin Shipping (HMM) showed interest, making it the first foreign entity to participate.
As HMM's two major shareholders, Korea Development Bank (KDB) and Korea Industrial Bank (KOBC), commissioned Samsung Securities to officially start bidding, responsible for the sale of their total holdings of 57.87 of HMM shares (including convertible bonds for shares), and require interested buyers in August 21 before bidding.
It is reported that just before the end of the tender three days, Hapburg-Lloyd hope Samsung Securities can provide tender instructions.
A spokesman said: "Hapg-Lloyd has been looking at various possibilities to further develop the business. In this context, we are also exploring whether investing in other liner businesses could play a stronger role in the global shipping industry."
According to the shipping industry network tracking report, as of now, at least South Korea's LG Group's LX Pantos, SM Group, Harim Group, South Korea's Dongyuan (Dongwon) Food Group and Global Sae-a Group five companies received Samsung Securities tender instructions.
After the collection super cycle brought record earnings to HMM, two major shareholders decided to take the company out of state support. KDB and KOBC hope to finalize the list of buyers by November. Market participants expect local bidders to have to work with private equity funds, as KDB and KOBC's HMM shares are expected to be valued at between 3.8 billion and 7.6 billion dollars.
In particular, as of June 30, Hapg-Lloyd held $7.38 billion in cash and $16.6 billion in retained earnings, making it financially stronger than local bidders.
Xeneta's chief analyst Peter Sand said the German shipping company needed to take action to maintain its market share because it had not been as aggressive in ordering new ships and buying second-hand vessels as its competitors.
He said: "Just by acquiring HMM, Hapg-Lloyd may not be able to 'catch up' COSCO Shipping Container Lines, but if it does not take action, it will be difficult to avoid being overtaken by ONE and EVA Shipping. If it is just sitting and waiting, Hapg-Lloyd may slip from fifth to seventh."
According to the latest Alphaliner data, among the world's top 100 liner companies, Hapg-Lloyd, ranked fifth, operates 1.88 million TEU and has 288,640 TEU of newbuilding orders. One, ranked No. 6, operates 1.68 million TEU, but orders are larger at 469768TEU. Evergreen Marine, ranked 7th, operates 1.67 million TEU, but orders reach 840650TEU. The #8 HMM has 790,342 TEU with an order volume of 265,027 TEU. Hapg-Lloyd + HMM could mean more than 3.22 million TEU of the fleet.
Of course, according to South Korean sources, both the government and the business community are "reluctant" to sell HMM to foreign entities.
Linerlytica analyst Tan Hua Joo added: "Selling HMM to a non-Korean entity is not politically feasible, especially after it has received state support in the past."
However, in the past ten years or so, Hapg-Lloyd has taken a series of acquisitions to consolidate its global ranking of No. 5, such as the 2014 acquisition of South American Shipping (CSAV), the 2017 acquisition of United Arab Shipping (UASC), the 2021 acquisition of Nile Shipping (NileDutch), and the 2022 acquisition of DAL.
Source: Shipping Online