Hapag-Lloyd and UASC have undersigned the Business Combination Agreement for the fusion



The shipowning company German Hapag-Lloyd and that Middle Eastern United Arab Shipping Company (UASC) has announced today the subscription of the fusion agreement that is approved of unanimously in extraordinary shareholders' meeting from the shareholders of the society of Dubay and that it has had the green light unanimous of the surveillance council of the Hapag-Lloyd, whose associates will be called the next month to authorize I use it of capital in order to put into effect the Business Combination Agreement (BCA) agreed from the two companies, that it will have in its turn to obtain the necessary prescribed and contractual authorizations.

In a separated agreement (Shareholders Support Agreement - SSA) the CSAV Germany Holding Container GmbH, the HGV Hamburger Gesellschaft für Vermögens- und Maritime Beteiligungsmanagement mbH and the Kühne GmbH, in quality of shareholders of the Hapag-Lloyd, and Qatar Holding LLC on behalf of the State of Qatar and the Public Investment Fund (PIF) on behalf of the Reign of Saudi Arabia, in quality of shareholders of the UASC, have assumed specific engagements for the fusion and relatively to the capital of the new society, based on which the shareholders of control of both the parts have engaged themselves to support an increase of capital of 400 million dollars to put into effect itself within six months from the completion of the fusion agreement.

The Hapag-Lloyd new been born from the fusion will continue to being quoted to the Stock exchanges of Frankfurt and Amburgo and will maintain the headquarters to Amburgo. The HGV, that the city administration of Amburgo is under responsibility of, and the Kühne Maritime, filial of the Holding Kühne that is controlling of the logistic group Kuehne + Nagel, will remain shareholders of control of the Hapag-Lloyd and Qatar Holding and the PIF, in quality of shareholders of majority of the UASC, will become new shareholders of the Hapag-Lloyd respective with 14% and 10% of the capital.

The Hapag-Lloyd new will become the fifth company of the field of the containerized marine transport with a fleet constituted from 237 ships for a transport ability pairs to about 1,6 million teu.

According to the esteem the fusion, than is previewed will be completed within the end of this year, will allow to realize synergies that will allow a annual saving pairs at least 400 million dollars.

Hapag-Lloyd and UASC have confirmed that the Hapag-Lloyd new will take part of new shipowning alliance THE Alliance with the companies Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha ("K" Linens), Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL), Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) and Yang Ming who will become operating the next April ( on 13 May 2016).

Emphasizing that the fusion will guarantee benefits to both the companies, the managing director of the Hapag-Lloyd, Rolf Habben Jansen, have specified that the transaction will give to approached Hapag-Lloyd to the Large Hooligan Vessel Container. Currently, in fact, the German company has portacontenitori ships of the maximum ability to about 13.000 teu, while UASC has in own fleet ships until an ability to 18.800 teu. "After the success of integration with the CSAV that has been capacity to term to half 2015 - it has evidenced Jansen - this transaction with the UASC constitutes another milestone for Hapag-Lloyd. The fusion strengthens our position which fifth primary company and one of the main truly total carriers of the line transport".

"In the course of its 40 history years - the president of the UASC, Nabeel Al-Amudi has declared - from regional carrier, the UASC has grown becoming a truly total carrier with a complete cover of the main routes and with a fleet to the vanguard. We are very proud of the successes obtained in the years from the UASC that have opened the road to this important agreement".