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Page 3 of 3
Since
the merger is likely to strengthen the status
of the City of Hamburg as a hub of European
shipping, the enticement of the city's endorsement
is obvious. According to a report from the
UK-based The Loadstar, 300,000 jobs are
directly related to Hamburg's port and shipping
industries, resulting in half of the city's
population being connected to shipping.
Though
Hamburg Sud is a private carrier and smaller
than Hapag-Lloyd in size, its business turnover
is strong. In 2011, Hamburg Sud generated
revenues of EUR4.7 billion, while Hapag-Lloyd
gained EUR6.1 billion in revenues, reported
The Loadstar. So it is a truism that the
owner of Hamburg Sud, the Oetker group,
might be unwilling to see the merger turn
out to be a takeover.
Like
the failure of previous talks back to 1997,
differences on financial terms and on the
final control remain the formidable problems.
Nonetheless,
a recent Lloyd's Loading List reported that
the Oetker family is confronted with internal
quarrels about shipping business, which
in turn, helps further negotiations.
Hapag-Lloyd
chairman Michael Behrendt told the media
earlier that going public in 2013 remains
a plan of the carrier. So the merger is
anticipated to pave the way for an initial
public offering (IPO), which may benefit
both German shipping lines at last.
If
successful, the tie-up would be the first
amalgamation in shipping industry since
2006.
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