{"id":296982,"date":"2026-02-18T07:14:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T07:14:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/296982\/"},"modified":"2026-02-18T07:14:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T07:14:08","slug":"hapag-lloyd-signs-merger-agreement-with-zim-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/296982\/","title":{"rendered":"Hapag-Lloyd signs merger agreement with Zim | News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hapag-Lloyd has\u00a0confirmed it has\u00a0signed an agreement with Zim Integrated Shipping Services, the world\u2019s 10th largest container shipping line,\u00a0to\u00a0acquire\u00a0100\u00a0per cent\u00a0of\u00a0its shares\u00a0with the\u00a0total transaction value amounting\u00a0to over US$4bn.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Hapag-Lloyd<\/p>\n

The acquisition will\u00a0secure Hapag-Lloyd\u2019s market position as the fifth-largest global container shipping company with a modern fleet of over 400 vessels, a standing capacity of over 3mn TEU, and an annual transport volume of more than 18mnTEU.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Zim\u2019s\u00a0shares leapt 50 per cent following the confirmation, according to\u00a0a report from\u00a0Reuters, while Hapag-Lloyd\u00a0shares fell by 8 per cent.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cZim is an excellent partner for Hapag-Lloyd,\u201d\u00a0said Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd. \u201cCustomers will\u00a0benefit\u00a0from a significantly strengthened network on the Transpacific, Intra Asia, Atlantic, Latin America and East Mediterranean. We share the same ambitions: great customer service, outstanding operational quality, and a commitment to digital innovation \u2013 all powered by the\u00a0expertise\u00a0and passion of our people worldwide.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Habben\u00a0Jansen added that Hapag-Lloyd would use the\u00a0opportunity to create the best team from the exceptional talent in\u00a0both companies.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe commit ourselves to build a very substantial and long-term presence in Israel,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u201cTogether, we will set new benchmarks of excellence and secure our position as the undisputed number one for quality in our industry.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

In connection with the transaction,\u00a0Hapag-Lloyd\u00a0has also entered into\u00a0an agreement with FIMI, Israel\u2019s largest and leading private equity fund. Once approved by the State of Israel, the agreement will\u00a0see Hapag-Lloyd\u00a0transfer the Special State Share held by the State in Zim to a newly created subsidiary of FIMI.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The new container line will start with 16 modern, sizeable, and efficient vessels and take over full responsibility for Zim\u2019s Golden Share as well as the Zim brand.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ishay Davidi, founder and CEO of the FIMI Funds said FIMI believes in the strategic importance for the State of Israel\u00a0to\u00a0maintain\u00a0an\u00a0independent Israeli shipping company.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will create a stable Israeli company, the new Zim, and view Hapag-Lloyd as a significant strategic partner for its on-going operations,\u201d Davidi said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cNew Zim will integrate significant transatlantic capabilities, alongside\u00a0additional\u00a0shipping routes to Europe, Africa, the Mediterranean\u00a0Sea\u00a0and the Black Sea, supported by advanced global maritime transport capabilities, while continuing to place the customer at the\u00a0centre\u00a0of its operations.\u00a0New Zim will work to provide its customers with the highest level of service. FIMI intends to\u00a0leverage\u00a0its experience and strategic capabilities to lead New Zim toward stable operations and uncompromising quality, while\u00a0maintaining\u00a0a deep commitment to its employees,\u00a0suppliers\u00a0and customers.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Zim\u2019s president and CEO Eli Glickman said he was incredibly proud of the strategic transformation Zim had executed over recent years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSince I joined the Company in 2017, Zim has progressed from a position of negative equity to become an industry leader with strong financial and operational performance. Since our IPO in January 2021, we have distributed an extraordinary\u00a0US$5.7bn\u00a0in dividends to shareholders. Upon completion of this transaction, total capital returned will be approximately\u00a0US$10bn, representing more than five times the\u00a0company\u2019s initial market value five years ago, or approximately 45 times the capital raised at the IPO.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The deal has caused\u00a0Zim staff\u00a0to call a strike, according to Reuters.\u00a0The company\u00a0told the publication it was called on 15 February at the company\u2019s headquarters in Haifa and\u00a0was\u00a0still\u00a0ongoing. It said\u00a0management was in talks with their union to avert any negative impact.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hapag-Lloyd has\u00a0confirmed it has\u00a0signed an agreement with Zim Integrated Shipping Services, the world\u2019s 10th largest container shipping line,\u00a0to\u00a0acquire\u00a0100\u00a0per…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":296983,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-296982","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296982","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=296982"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296982\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/296983"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=296982"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=296982"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=296982"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}