Merger Mania

M&A radar: Cargotec + Konecranes merger – increasingly shaky, with two ‘buts’

One of the biggest mergers in the container handling equipment sector – a key provider to the supply chain – is looking increasingly shaky by the day, as competition regulators around the world begin to voice their opposition.
The proposed merger of two Finnish engineering behemoths in the sector – Cargotec and Konecranes* – both listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange and hitherto very much fierce competitors, appears to be on …

The post M&A radar: Cargotec + Konecranes merger – increasingly...

https://theloadstar.com/ma-radar-cargotec-konecranes-merger-increasingly-shaky-with-two-buts/

Antwerp and Zeebrugge will merge – creating a superport to rival Rotterdam

A new superport is set to be created in north-west Europe after the Belgian ports of Antwerp and Zeebrugge announced today that they will formally merge. 
Talks between the municipal authorities of Antwerp and Bruges began in 2018 and unification will put the superport within touching distance of nearby rival, Europe’s largest container hub, Rotterdam. 
Last year, the two ports handled 13.8m (Antwerp, 12m teu, and Zeebrugge, 1.8m teu).  
Meanwhile, although the figures for Rotterdam, which had...

https://theloadstar.com/antwerp-and-zeebrugge-to-merge-creating-a-superport-to-rival-rotterdam/

Kerry Logistics takeover by SF Holding creates ‘biggest logistics group in Asia’

Chinese express giant SF Holding is to acquire a 51.8% stake in Hong Kong’s Kerry Logistics Network – a landmark $2.3bn deal creating the “biggest logistics group in Asia”.
In a filing to the Shenzhen stock exchange late last night, SF Holding, which operates courier firm SF Express, said the move would help expand its international footprint and freight forwarding operations through Kerry’s extensive South-east Asia network and its strength on …

The post Kerry Logistics takeover by SF Holding...

https://theloadstar.com/kerry-network-takeover-by-sf-holding-creates-biggest-logistics-group-in-asia/

M&A radar: The birth of a German super-stevedore – more takeover than merger

Hamburg’s major container terminal operator HHLA announced at the end of May that it had entered into strategic talks with its German peers, Eurokai and BLG International.
In this type of situation, all outcomes are possible but should we eagerly prepare for a three-way merger now? While some already put that question forward, here is our answer.
Statement
“Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA), Eurokai GmbH & Co. KGaA and BLG Logistics Group …

The post M&A radar: The birth of a German...

https://theloadstar.com/ma-radar-the-birth-of-a-german-super-stevedore-more-takeover-than-merger/

Wan Hai stays in the black, but Evergreen and Yang Ming’s red ink raises merger talk

Niche carrier Wan Hai was the only Taiwanese container line to post a net profit in the first quarter of this year as its larger compatriots, Evergreen and Yang Ming, traded in the red.
The parlous position of the liner industry has renewed speculation of a merger of these two into one state-sponsored container line, a development that would be strongly resisted by their individual managements.
Following a $27m loss recorded by …

The post Wan Hai stays in the black, but Evergreen and Yang Ming’s...

https://theloadstar.com/wan-hai-stays-in-the-black-but-evergreen-and-yang-mings-red-ink-raises-merger-talk/

On the wires: A Hapag-Lloyd + ONE merger? Please…

“At the first annual meeting of the newly born Italian shipowner association, Assarmatori, the executive chairman of Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), Gianluigi Aponte, was asked who might be next in the great wave of container shipping consolidation. The shipping veteran said eventually he expected Japan’s Ocean Network Express (ONE) and Hamburg-based Hapag-Lloyd would one day join forces.” Splash 24/7, 23 July 2019. 
A disaster waiting to happen? Hapag-Lloyd has just recently managed to …

T...

https://theloadstar.com/on-the-wires-a-hapag-lloyd-one-merger-please/

Supply chain radar: Mr Market is betting on Hapag–Lloyd + Evergreen, or… not

At times, capital markets send conflicting signs that can be easily dismissed. At other times, however, they are predictive.
When it comes to the container shipping industry, the headache for M&A arbitrageurs is that several scenarios have emerged in the past four weeks or so, judging by Mr Market‘s pricing of risk for the main prospects in the sector.
Let’s look at what’s going on behind the scenes.
Support or resistance? 
While we still try to …

The post Supply chain radar: Mr Market is...

https://theloadstar.com/supply-chain-radar-mr-market-is-betting-on-hapag-lloyd-evergreen-or-not/

Supply chain radar: Why Geodis needs to be liberated from the SNCF quagmire

After my recent trawl through Deutsche Bahn AG’s annual report, it seems only fair to have a stab at France’s state-owned equivalent: SNCF.
At a mere 150 pages, SNCF’s 2018 update is more compact if not more concise than DB’s glossy 300-page effort. Sadly, it doesn’t have any pictures.
From a freight and logistics perspective, the upshot of our delve into Deutsche Bahn was that it probably should, but for understandable reasons …

The post Supply chain radar: Why Geodis needs to be liberated from...

https://theloadstar.com/supply-chain-radar-why-geodis-needs-to-be-liberated-from-the-sncf-quagmire/

Market Insight: DSV + Panalpina – ‘Empowerment’ is a thorny issue in the modern Viking Ironclad Age (Part II)

Staff and their fortunes in M&A is always a hot topic – and the Sfr5.4bn DSV/Panalpina deal is no exception, of course.
While in Part I of my modern Viking Ironclad Age coverage – which hinged on the Panalpina (PAN) brand integration strategy and ocean volume considerations, among others – it was relatively easy to draw one conclusion: DSV will do what it does best, upping the margins of the target …

The post Market Insight: DSV + Panalpina – ‘Empowerment’ is a thorny issue in the modern Viking...

https://theloadstar.com/market-insight-dsv-panalpina-empowerment-is-a-thorny-issue-in-the-modern-viking-ironclad-age-part-ii/

Market Insight: DSV + Panalpina – from ‘trouble in paradise’ to the modern Viking Ironclad Age (Part I) 

“I have long held the opinion that the amount of noise that anyone can bear undisturbed stands in inverse proportion to his mental capacity and therefore be regarded as a pretty fair measure of it.” – Arthur Schopenhauer (1788 – 1860).
There is so much noise and speculation out there, mid-way through the early acts of the takeover of Panalpina (PAN) by DSV – the deal was announced on 1 April and …

The post Market Insight: DSV + Panalpina – from ‘trouble in paradise’ to the modern Viking Ironclad...

https://theloadstar.com/market-insight-dsv-panalpina-from-trouble-in-paradise-to-the-modern-viking-ironclad-age-part-i/

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