Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd formally acquires Deutsche Afrika-Linien (DAL), a specialist shipping line focusing on South Africa and trade between South Africa and Europe, reports Alphaliner.
Hapag-Lloyd buys DAL from the family-owned Rantzau Group, which also operates in other shipping sectors through various affiliates, such as Essberger Tankers and John T. Essberger Dry Cargo.
Hapag-Lloyd initially announced a framework agreement with DAL in March, but said at the time that completion was still subject to approval by the responsible antitrust authorities. None of the parties involved in the sale commented on the price of the transaction.
The purchase concerns DAL’s entire transatlantic business, including the acquisition of the 6,589 TEU vessel DAL KALAHARI and DAL’s equipment fleet of around 17,800 boxes. Hapag-Lloyd CEO Rolf Habben Jansen commented: “We are very pleased with the closing of the transaction and look forward to welcoming colleagues from DAL.” He added that DAL’s experienced staff would help Hapag-Lloyd achieve further growth in Africa, which Habben Jansen described as an “important strategic market” for the airline.
Hapag – Lloyd mentioned the DAL service to and from South Africa in particular as a ” valuable addition ” to its network and underlined that it expects operations to be integrated by the fourth quarter of 2022. So far, the shipping line has not yet disclosed any plans for this route corridor, where DAL cooperates on a joint service with Maersk and ONE.
Now, Hapag-Lloyd provides this service through an allocation of spaces in MSC. The acquisition of DAL comes just one year after Hapag-Lloyd acquired Nile Dutch, a specialized line to and from West Africa.
Source: Alphaliner
