The board of Israeli logistics giant Zim Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. on Sunday approved the sale of the company to Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd and Israel’s FIMI Opportunity Funds, Calcalist reported.
The deal is reportedly valued at $4.2 billion.
According to the report, Zim will also sell part of its assets to the FIMI fund, which will form the basis of a new company called “Zim Israel.”
Under the agreement, FIMI-owned Zim Israel will take ownership of Zim’s 16 vessels, while Hapag-Lloyd will assume control of the company’s 99 chartered ships.
The new FIMI-controlled company will operate medium-sized vessels on routes connecting the Mediterranean with major ports in the Far East and the United States.
Hapag-Lloyd, the world’s fifth-largest container shipping company by volume, won the tender over Danish rival Maersk, the industry’s second-largest player.
Israeli Transportation Minister Miri Regev ordered an immediate review of the sale after officials were caught off guard by the deal, Israel Hayom reported on Sunday.
The review comes amid heightened scrutiny over Hapag-Lloyd’s ties to Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which have drawn political attention in Jerusalem. About 35% of the German carrier is owned by the Qatar Investment Authority and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, both sovereign wealth funds.
Regev instructed Transportation Ministry Director-General Moshe Ben-Zaken to review the implications of the sale and assess whether the state can intervene by invoking its “golden share,” which grants it veto power over certain strategic decisions.
However, other officials briefed on the details said Hapag-Lloyd anticipated the possibility that Israel might exercise its veto rights. As a result, the company structured the transaction in a way that splits ZIM’s operations, making it significantly more difficult for the state to block the deal.
Additional sources told Israel Hayom that the European Commission’s competition authorities may also scrutinize the acquisition. Hapag-Lloyd’s purchase of nearly 100 of ZIM’s shipping lines could raise antitrust issues within the European Union.
