Cash-rich German global carrier Hapag-Lloyd is buying a 49% stake in Italian logistics group Spinelli Group. The Spinelli family will continue to hold a 51% majority stake when the transaction closes, expected within the next few months. No financial details have been revealed.
Since 1963 Spinelli has been offering a wide range of logistics services in Italy with a presence in most ports and intermodal centres across the nation.
For Hapag-Lloyd, which is on course to register record annual profits this year in the region of EUR18bn ($17.9bn), the Italian logistics decision is similar to many of its bigger peers, such as Maersk, MSC and CMA CGM, who have all moved to acquire other logistics infrastructure rather than just liner-related investments during container shipping’s incredible earnings run.
“It’s interesting to see that Hapag is also evolving into an integrator. Up till now, Hapag was more focused on acquiring horizontally, meaning mostly shipping lines such as UASC and NileDutch,” commented Christoph Scheithe, the host of the PlanetLogistics platform.
