WEST AFRICA – Hapag-Lloyd, a German shipping company mainly transporting agricultural goods out of Africa is seeking to take full ownership of the Dutch container shipping company Nile Dutch Investments B.V.

According to Hapag-Lloyd the sale and purchase agreement are subject to the approval of antitrust authorities.

With over 40 years of expertise, NileDutch is one the leading providers of container services from and to West Africa.

The company is present in 85 locations across the world and has 16 own offices in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Singapore, China, Angola, Congo and Cameroon.

It currently offers 10 liner services, around 35,000 TEU of transport capacity and a container fleet of around 80,000 TEU, connecting Europe, Asia and Latin America with West and South Africa.

Headquartered in Rotterdam, NileDutch has some 350 employees worldwide with particular expertise in the African market.

“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,” Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd, said.

With a fleet of 234 containerships and a total transport capacity of 1.7 million TEU, Hapag-Lloyd is one of the leading operators in the Transatlantic, Middle East, Latin America and Intra-America trades.

“The acquisition of NileDutch strengthens our position in West Africa and will be an excellent addition to our existing activities on the continent.”

Rolf Habben Jansen – CEO of Hapag-Lloyd

Its 121 liner services connect between more than 600 ports on all the continents.

“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 make the next step and further develop the Africa business,” Wim van Aalst, President of NileDutch, said.

The deal announcement comes barely a month after Hapag-Lloyd opened of a new office in Kenya as part of its growth strategy in Africa.

Setting base in Kenya will further enhance the company’s regular inland connections to and from Mombasa with landlocked East African countries – such as Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan.

As part of its growth strategy, the shipping company is seeking to develop inland connections to Somalia, Southern Ethiopia and Northern Tanzania.

With the opening of the new office, Hapag-Lloyd now has own five offices on the continent in South Africa, Egypt, Ghana, Nigeria and Kenya.

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