UASC: Owners ‘generally supportive’ of merger discussions with Hapag-Lloyd

A combination of businesses between United Arab Shipping Co., which is jointly owned by the governments of six wealthy Middle Eastern nations, and Hapag-Lloyd of Germany has “strategic value,” and talks will continue, the ocean carrier said in a statement.    Ocean carrier United Arab Shipping Co. met with shareholders Thursday at the company’s corporate office in Dubai, United Arab Emirates to discuss a possible combination with Hapag-Lloyd, but no decision was finalized, the company said in a statement.
   Shareholder representatives “were generally supportive of the ongoing discussions with Hapag-Lloyd and recognized the strategic value of a potential combination of both businesses, but no formal vote was held today on this topic since the full agreement has not been finalized.”
   UASC said it is continuing discussions with Hapag-Lloyd to reach an agreement on the envisaged combination, in which case, another meeting of the UASC shareholders will then be convened.
   Founded in 1967, UASC is owned by a half dozen countries in the Middle East. In 2014, Qatar increased its ownership in the company to 51.27 percent, according to an Federal Maritime Commission document. The minority owners are the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Kuwait.
   In April, Hapag-Lloyd disclosed it was discussing a possible combination with UASC on the basis that Hapag-Lloyd would own 72 percent of a combined company and UASC 28 percent. But it noted any deal was “subject to a mutually satisfactory completion of the negotiations and the mutual due diligence exercise.” The German line postponed its annual general meeting, originally scheduled for June 1, due to the continuing merger talks.