Hapag-Lloyd dismisses MSC stake acquisition report as 'pure speculation'

Hapag-Lloyd has described a report that Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) founder and executive chairman Gianluigi Aponte is seeking to acquire a stake in the company as "pure speculation" and declined to comment further.

IMAGE: Container vessel Afif at the Burchardkai Container Terminal in the Port of Hamburg. Hapag Lloyd

Citing sources, German business magazine Manager Magazin reported that Aponte had been seeking to acquire a stake in Hapag-Lloyd, although the report noted that the German carrier "is completely opposed to the idea."

A Hapag-Lloyd spokesperson told ENGINE that the report was "pure speculation" and noted that MSC had already denied the rumours. The spokesperson declined to comment further.

MSC told Reuters on 17 June that "this report is not true."

German billionaire Klaus-Michael Kuehne and Chilean shipping company Compania Sud Americana de Vapores (CSAV) each hold a 30% stake in Hapag-Lloyd, according to Reuters, citing LSEG data.

By Konica Bhatt

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