EU APPROVES HAPAG-LLOYD’s ACQUISITION OF BRAMBLES EUROPEAN RAIL DIVISION

EU APPROVES HAPAG-LLOYDÆS ACQUISITION OF BRAMBLES EUROPEAN RAIL DIVISION    The European Commission has approved the acquisition of the Australian Brambles Group's European rail logistics activities by Hapag-Lloyd and VTG-Lehnkering.
   M.M. Warburg & Co., through an associated company, is providing financing for part of Brambles European Rail Division. VTG-Lehnkering, part of the Hapag-Lloyd group, will assume responsibility for the operative management of the division's fleet of about 21,400 freight cars it owns or manages.
   'We are delighted by the commission's decision,' said Michael Behrendt, chairman of the executive board for Hapag-Lloyd AG. 'As the largest private partner of European railways and shippers, we will now consistently aim at promoting rail as a competitive means of transport ' in the interests of efficient freight transportation.'
   VTG-Lehnkering plans to integrate the Brambles division by summer, pending approval by cartel authorities in Bulgaria and Slovakia. Their decision is expected later this month.
   VTG-Lehnkering had earlier acquired Transpetrol, an international rail forwarding company, and a stake in rail4chem, a rail haulage operator.