Adedapo Adesanya
By Adedapo Adesanya
Global shipping giants, Hapag-Lloyd and NileDutch have signed a sale and purchase agreement where Hapag-Lloyd acquires all shares of the Dutch container shipping company Nile Dutch Investments B.V. as it continues to position itself in Africa.
With over 40 years of expertise, NileDutch is one of the leading providers of container services from and to West Africa. The company is also present in 85 locations across the world and has 16 own offices in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Singapore, China, Angola, Congo and Cameroon.
With 10 liner services, around 35,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) of transport capacity, and a container fleet of around 80,000 TEU, the company connects Europe, Asia and Latin America with West and South Africa.
NileDutch has its headquarters in Rotterdam, the Netherlands and has some 350 employees worldwide with particular expertise in the African market.
Speaking on the acquisition, Mr Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd said, “Africa is an important strategic growth market for Hapag-Lloyd. The acquisition of NileDutch strengthens our position in West Africa and will be an excellent addition to our existing activities on the continent.
“Our combined customer base will benefit from a denser network from and to Africa as well as from a much higher frequency of sailings. We welcome the new colleagues from NileDutch and hope that together we can further develop our business in Africa in the years to come.”
According to Mr Wim van Aalst, President of NileDutch, added: “Hapag-Lloyd and NileDutch are a very good fit and I am happy that we join forces. Combining our business and expertise in West Africa with Hapag-Lloyd´s worldwide network will enable us to take the next step and further develop the Africa business.”
The completion of the transaction is however subject to the approval of the responsible antitrust authorities.
