Hamburg businessman acquires Germanisher Lloyd

Hamburg businessman acquires Germanisher Lloyd Ship classification society Germanischer Lloyd has avoided what it characterized as a 'hostile takeover' attempt by rival Bureau Veritas and instead has been purchased by the Hamburg businessman G'nter Herz.
   The Hamburg-based classification society said 90 percent of the shares in the company have been sold to Hertz.
   Bureau Veritas, based in the Paris suburb of Courbevoie, first proposed a merger with Germanischer Lloyd in November, but the approach was firmly rejected by German class society.
   That touched off a bidding war, which some press reports say involved as many as five companies.
   Herz had reportedly acquired 40 percent of the company by the start of a shareholders meeting on Friday, and press reports say he matched an offer by the TUeV Sued, an industrial conglomerate that has its roots in the boiler inspection business.
   Forbes quoted German newspaper Allgemeine Zeitung as saying TueV's offer of 57.50 euros per share was worth a total of about 550 million euros ($720 million).
   Germanischer Lloyd employs 3,200 staff worldwide, and has 176 branches and agencies in 74 countries.
   Herz is a member of one of German's wealthiest families, made rich by their involvement in the coffee business. He and his sister are major shareholders in the Puma sportswear company.