Yesterday, Hapag-Lloyd let out a press release addressing successfully concluding the takeover of the container liner business of German carrier Deutsche Afrika-Linien (DAL) after signing the framework agreement in March 2022. The approval of worldwide antitrust authorities completed the deal. Hapag-Lloyd’s primary motivator when establishing this deal was to expand in the South African market.
Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd, could be described as eager when speaking about the deal between the German and South African companies, “We are very pleased with the closing of the transaction and looking forward to welcoming the DAL colleagues. With their broad experience and market knowledge, they will significantly support us in growing in Africa, which remains an important strategic market for us further. We will now fully integrate the DAL’s container liner activities into our business.”
Alongside the expansion, the addition of DAL for Hapag-Lloyd allows them to offer their customers a better network and additional port coverage in this region. In 2021, Hapag-Lloyd acquired Africa-specialized carrier NileDutch, which deeply strengthened the carrier’s presence and service to and from West Africa.
DAL is a well-known liner shipping company that transports containerized freight between Europe, South Africa, and the Indian Ocean; it conducts four liner routes between Europe, South Africa, and the Indian Ocean.
The collaboration deal will be moving swiftly; full commercial integration is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2022.
