Brazil competition authority approves Maersk-Hamburg Süd deal

Danish shipping giant Maersk Line has received approval from Brazil’s Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) to finalize the company’s $4.3 billion acquisition of north-south specialist carrier Hamburg Süd.    Brazilian competition authorities have approved Maersk Line’s proposed $4.3 billion acquisition of Germany’s Hamburg Süd, a Maersk spokesperson confirmed in a statement to American Shipper.
   The Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) reviewed Maersk Line’s divestment of Brazilian cabotage subsidiary Mercosul Line to French ocean carrier CMA CGM, as well as previously agreed upon changes to vessel sharing agreements (VSA) that will take place once the acquisition is finalized.
   According to Maersk Line, one such change is the Danish carrier’s commitment to the European Commission (EC) to withdraw Hamburg Süd from the VSA covering its Mediterranean-East Coast South America (MESA) service.
   With the CADE approval, Maersk now enters a 15-day waiting period, the carrier stated.
   “We are very pleased that the General Superintendence’s in-depth analysis of the acquisition has now led to a clearance decision which addresses all competition law aspects of the acquisition,” said Morten Toft, the senior legal counsel in Maersk Line’s Competition Law team. “The General Superintendence conducted a thorough investigation and has scrutinized the relevant affected markets, including e.g. container liner shipping, terminals, towage and cabotage. Moreover, the General Superintendence has separately assessed the impact of the acquisition on the VSA landscape in Brazil.”
   “The process of obtaining regulatory approvals from all relevant jurisdictions remains on track,” added Toft. “We will now await the expiration of the 15 days’ waiting period, and meanwhile we continue the course of obtaining all regulatory approvals by Q4 2017.”
   Although gaining approval from CADE is a necessary milestone to completing the deal, Maersk Line’s acquisition of Hamburg Süd is still subject to approvals from the relevant authorities in the United States, Australia, the European Union, Mexico, Turkey, Japan and Ecuador.