Hapag-Lloyd and CSAV are in talks over a possible merger that would create the world’s fourth largest ocean carrier.
The German and Chilean companies are weighing whether “a possible business combination or any other form of association would be of mutual interest,” Hapag-Lloyd said in a statement today.
The talks “have not resulted in any binding or non-binding agreement between the parties, “the Hamburg-based carrier added.
Hapag-Lloyd was responding to a report in German daily newspaper Die Welt that top executives of the two companies met two weekends ago in Miami to consider a number of options, including a merger.
The talks between the carriers, which previously considered a cross-ownership deal several years ago, are at an early stage, the paper said.
CSAV said it had taken a series of measures in recent years to confront the difficulties facing the shipping industry, including “the implementation of joint operations with other shippers and agreements to combine cargoes.”
The Valparaiso-based company said it is currently in talks “with diverse actors in the industry, including negotiations with German company Hapag-Lloyd.”
A merger between Germany’s largest carrier and Latin America’s biggest container line would create the world’s fourth largest carrier behind Maersk Line, Mediterranean Shipping Co. and CMA CGM and ahead of Evergreen. It would have a combined fleet of 993,185 20-foot equivalent units and a 5.6 percent market share, according to Alphaliner, an industry consultant.
Hapag-Lloyd called off merger negotiations with rival German carrier Hamburg Süd earlier in the year because the two sides could not agree the terms of ownership.
Hapag-Lloyd posted a third quarter net profit of €16.6 million ($22.6 million), down from €45.6 million ($62 million) in the same period a year ago.
CSAV swung to a net loss of $46.7 million in the third from a $55.8 million profit a year ago.
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