Hamburg’s fight against the sale of Hapag-Lloyd to a foreign buyer has received further political support.
Local MP Jürgen Klimke sent letters to Economics Minister Michael Glos and the government’s maritime co-ordinator Dagmar Wöhrl, asking them to back the so-called Hamburg solution.
The move came as potential bidders received the 100-page long prospectus from Tui setting out what is for sale. No price is mentioned in the sales pack, Lloyd’s List understands.
The prospectus gives an overview of Hapag-Lloyd’s organisational structure, trade lanes and associated volumes and freighr rates, and explains which ships will be transferred from Tui’s balance sheet to Hapag-Lloyd. The sale only covers the container business, and not Hapag-Lloyd’s cruise activities.
Hamburg’s shipping community is alarned at the prospect of the line’s headquarters being moved elsewhere if an overseas buyer is successful.
“In the case of a foreign bidder buying Hapag-Lloyd, it is to be expected that the headquarters will not remain in Hamburg and a large part of the jobs will be lost,” Mr Klimke said in his letters.
“For Hamburg and the whole maritime location Hapag-Lloyd is, because of its history, size and brand awareness, a key enterprise, the departure of which would be a negative signal for the whole of Germany as a maritime location.”
The Christian-Democratic MP made clear that he does not expect the German government to provide financial backing for the Hamburg solution, which has been initiated by MM Warburg and entrepreneur Klaus Michael Kühne. However, he wants government representatives to clarify their position on the issue and to monitor the process benevolently.
The initiative is obviously backed by the shipowners’ association VDR, which has to date avoided taking up a stance on the sale of Hapag-Lloyd in public. Hapag-Lloyd chief executive Michael Behrendt is about to take the helm as president of VDR. A sale of Hapag-Lloyd and its sizeable fleet of German-flagged vessels might endanger the owners’ target of bringing back 100 vessels under the domestic flag by the end of the year.
Ms Wöhrl and MPs from the Social Democratic Party have already expressed their support for Hapag-Lloyd and called for the liner company to remain with headquarters in Hamburg.
Supporters of the Hamburg solution, the financial feasibility of which is unclear, are hoping that political sympathy for a domestic solution might have a certain deterrent effect on foreign bidders.
But local industry commentators doubt if this will materialise.
“With each investor having to contribute €500m ($773m), there are not many options left for participation,” one insider said.
“The only chance is that the group finds a private equity investor who injects money on a larger scale.”
Potential buyers from the ranks of leading shipping companies were able to offer higher prices, not least because they could obtain synergies for their existing business from a combination with Hapag-Lloyd, the expert said. That was not the case for the Hamburg group.
Tui has indicated that it would not show any preference for local interests, but would look at the best price.
Meanwhile, Tui chief executive Michael Frenzel has been touring Asia to meet potential buyers for Hapag-Lloyd.
Neptune Orient Lines is still tipped as the favourite to buy Hapag-Lloyd, but the Singapore line has failed in two previous takeover attempts of other lines, including P&O Nedlloyd.
Local MP Jürgen Klimke sent letters to Economics Minister Michael Glos and the government’s maritime co-ordinator Dagmar Wöhrl, asking them to back the so-called Hamburg solution.
The move came as potential bidders received the 100-page long prospectus from Tui setting out what is for sale. No price is mentioned in the sales pack, Lloyd’s List understands.
The prospectus gives an overview of Hapag-Lloyd’s organisational structure, trade lanes and associated volumes and freighr rates, and explains which ships will be transferred from Tui’s balance sheet to Hapag-Lloyd. The sale only covers the container business, and not Hapag-Lloyd’s cruise activities.
Hamburg’s shipping community is alarned at the prospect of the line’s headquarters being moved elsewhere if an overseas buyer is successful.
“In the case of a foreign bidder buying Hapag-Lloyd, it is to be expected that the headquarters will not remain in Hamburg and a large part of the jobs will be lost,” Mr Klimke said in his letters.
“For Hamburg and the whole maritime location Hapag-Lloyd is, because of its history, size and brand awareness, a key enterprise, the departure of which would be a negative signal for the whole of Germany as a maritime location.”
The Christian-Democratic MP made clear that he does not expect the German government to provide financial backing for the Hamburg solution, which has been initiated by MM Warburg and entrepreneur Klaus Michael Kühne. However, he wants government representatives to clarify their position on the issue and to monitor the process benevolently.
The initiative is obviously backed by the shipowners’ association VDR, which has to date avoided taking up a stance on the sale of Hapag-Lloyd in public. Hapag-Lloyd chief executive Michael Behrendt is about to take the helm as president of VDR. A sale of Hapag-Lloyd and its sizeable fleet of German-flagged vessels might endanger the owners’ target of bringing back 100 vessels under the domestic flag by the end of the year.
Ms Wöhrl and MPs from the Social Democratic Party have already expressed their support for Hapag-Lloyd and called for the liner company to remain with headquarters in Hamburg.
Supporters of the Hamburg solution, the financial feasibility of which is unclear, are hoping that political sympathy for a domestic solution might have a certain deterrent effect on foreign bidders.
But local industry commentators doubt if this will materialise.
“With each investor having to contribute €500m ($773m), there are not many options left for participation,” one insider said.
“The only chance is that the group finds a private equity investor who injects money on a larger scale.”
Potential buyers from the ranks of leading shipping companies were able to offer higher prices, not least because they could obtain synergies for their existing business from a combination with Hapag-Lloyd, the expert said. That was not the case for the Hamburg group.
Tui has indicated that it would not show any preference for local interests, but would look at the best price.
Meanwhile, Tui chief executive Michael Frenzel has been touring Asia to meet potential buyers for Hapag-Lloyd.
Neptune Orient Lines is still tipped as the favourite to buy Hapag-Lloyd, but the Singapore line has failed in two previous takeover attempts of other lines, including P&O Nedlloyd.