The appetite for growth at MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company is big. Following recent news about freight and passenger rail growth, the latest news comes from the port logistics area. MSC will make a tender offer for all currently freely traded shares of HHLA at a price which is 57% more than the 30-day average of the trading price. Through that, and the agreement with the Free Hanseatic City of Hamburg (that currently owns 69% of HHLA), it will change the ownership structure of the port terminals and logistics company.
In the future, HHLA will only have two shareholders - the city of Hamburg with 50.1% and MSC with 49.9%. The company will operate as a joint venture. Hamburg and MSC have further agreed to draw up a long-term investment plan that will be developed together with HHLA. MSC will even move its German headquarters to Hamburg. The partnership, signed indefinitely, can be terminated at the earliest in 40 years.
From 2025, MSC will significantly expand its goods handling at the HHLA terminals in Hamburg. Six years later, from 2031 onwards, MSC plans to handle a minimum volume of 1,000,000 TEU in Hamburg.
