The shareholders of the German shipping giant Hapag-Lloyd have approved all items on the agenda at the latest Annual General Meeting, including the creation of new authorised share capital.
This is to be used for a planned capital increase of USD 400 million, which is scheduled to take place within six month after the closing of the merger with the Arabian liner shipping company UASC.
Hapag-Lloyd said that some of the anchor shareholders have committed to backstop the cash capital increase in the amount of USD 400 million. With the approval of the shareholders, all key preconditions have been met for the capital increase, which aims to strengthen the financial position of the company.
“The merger with the United Arab Shipping Company will now be another milestone for us and a decisive strategic lever for being profitable over the long term,” said Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd AG .
“For the 2017 business year, the integration of UASC into Hapag-Lloyd will be the focus of our activities. The merger doesn’t only make us bigger, stronger, more flexible and more international; most importantly, it also makes us more competitive,” Jansen added.