Israeli Transport Minister Miri Regev has ordered an immediate review of the sale of Israeli logistics giant Zim Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. to Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd and Israel’s FIMI Opportunity Funds, after officials were caught off guard by the deal, sources told Israel Hayom on Sunday.
The deal for an estimated $3.7 billion, finalized overnight between Saturday and Sunday, stipulates that ZIM’s shipping lines operating to and from Israel will be sold to FIMI, while its international routes will be acquired by Hapag-Lloyd, the world’s fifth-largest container shipping company.
The review comes amid heightened sensitivity over ZIM’s strategic importance to Israel, particularly given Hapag-Lloyd’s ties to Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which have drawn political attention in Jerusalem.
Around 35% of the German carrier is owned by the Qatar Investment Authority and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, both sovereign wealth funds.
According to sources familiar with the matter, both the Administration of Shipping and Ports and the Transport Ministry were surprised by the scope and structure of the sale.
Regev instructed Transport 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.
Concerns surrounding the sale extend beyond Israel’s defense establishment and the Transport Ministry. Additional sources told Israel Hayom that the European Commission’s competition authorities may also scrutinize the acquisition. As the fifth-largest shipping company globally, Hapag-Lloyd’s purchase of nearly 100 of ZIM’s shipping lines could raise antitrust issues within the European Union.
This is an edited version of a story originally published by Israel Hayom.
