The German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd would be interested in the acquisition of the South Korean HMM, an operation that would enable the Hamburg-based company to considerably consolidate its its position as the fifth largest global carrier in the containerized sea transport by capacity of the fleet, the consistency of which with the ships of Asian society It would rise to about 2.7 million teu. According to rumors of the in the banking sector, Hapag-Lloyd allegedly asked for a prospectus of sale to Samsung Securities, which has been appointed advisor for the sale of HMM shares held by Korea Development Bank and Korea Ocean Business Corporation ( of 21 July 2023), in order to assess its participation the operation, in respect of which it would avail itself of advice of Goldman Sachs.

Until now, control of the HMM seemed to remain in place. national scope being South Korean the four companies - SM, LX, Harim and Dongwon - who to date have expressed interest in participation in the sales procedure, which will see the phase preliminary conclusion next Monday. According to some sources, it is not excluded that Hapag-Lloyd participates in the tender in consortium with South Korean companies.

Hapag-Lloyd is HMM's partner in THE Alliance, the shipowning consortium that also includes the Taiwanese Yang Ming and the Singaporean Ocean Network Express (ONE) and to which the South Korean company joined in 2019 ( of 1 July 2019).