German container shipping company Hapag-Lloyd announced Wednesday it
has reached a deal to acquire NileDutch, based in the Netherlands,
strengthening Hapag-Lloyd''s position in the African market.

The sale and purchase agreement will see Hapag-Lloyd acquire all
shares of Nile Dutch Investments B.V., subject to the approval of
antitrust authorities.

Rotterdam-headquartered NileDutch is among leading providers of
container services from and to West Africa. The company currently
offers 10 liner services, around 35,000 TEU of transport capacity
and a container fleet of around 80,000 TEU, the company connects
Europe, Asia and Latin America with West and South Africa.

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

With a fleet of 234 containerships and a total transport capacity of
1.7 million TEU, Hapag-Lloyd is is one of the leading operators in
the Transatlantic, Middle East, Latin America and Intra-America
trades. Its 121 liner services connect between more than 600 ports
on all the continents.

Wim van Aalst, President of NileDutch, said, “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.”