MSC takeover bid for port logistics company HHLA expired
The takeover bid by the major shipping company MSC to shareholders of the Hamburg port logistics company HHLA expired on Tuesday night. The City of Hamburg and the world's largest liner shipping company want to run HHLA as a joint venture in future, with MSC holding a maximum of 49.9 percent. Hamburg currently holds around 69 percent of HHLA. In order for the plan to be realized, MSC had to convince HHLA shareholders to sell their shares to the shipping company. An extension of the acceptance period, which ended at midnight, is possible. MSC is offering 16.75 euros per HHLA share.
Four weeks after the publication of the offer, MSC has gradually approached the home straight in small steps. By Monday afternoon, MSC had tendered just under 3.9 percent of the HHLA shares, according to the shipping company's daily mandatory announcements. In addition, the world's largest liner shipping company already held an HHLA stake of just under ten percent.
Important mark at 90 percent
According to this information, the City of Hamburg and MSC now hold a total of 63.3 million HHLA shares. "This corresponds to a total of around 84.21% of the company's share capital and voting rights as of the reporting date." In the first half of November, MSC Germany's CEO Nils Kahn had still spoken of 75 percent held jointly by the city and his company.
An important threshold for takeover bids is 90 percent. This threshold is decisive for the fact that the remaining shareholders can be forced to transfer their shares against their will - the technical term for this is squeeze-out.
Shareholders who did not accept the MSC offer at the first attempt could do so within a statutory "further acceptance period". According to previous MSC statements, this could run from November 24 to December 7.
The takeover bid by MSC for a significant stake in HHLA could potentially impact stock exchanges, as the success of the bid would affect the finances of both companies. Furthermore, if MSC surpasses the 90% threshold, it may need to utilize shipping and transportation methods to acquire the remaining shares, potentially leading to increased traffic in these sectors.
Source: www.dpa.com
