Going once, going twice, sold!
Cologne-based HGK made the highest bid for the European inland shipping activities of South Africa’s Imperial Logistics. The division, which has more than 400 vessels and handles 45 million t of cargo, will change hands in mid-year.
All the bids have come in and the auction has been completed. South Africa’s Imperial Logistics has completed a process it announced some time ago and sold its European inland shipping segment. The German enterprise Häfen und Güterverkehr Köln (HGK) prevailed as the buyer and is set to become the new owner. The unit, which was said to be worth approximately EUR 225 million, was sold for EUR 176 million. As is usual, the transaction has to be approved both by the companies’s shareholders as well as the concomitant cartel authorities.
The transaction, which covers approximately 400 ships as well as around 45 million t of cargo annually and 900 employees, is set to be officialised on 30 June this year. HGK stated that it expects to take over all of the unit’s existing contractual arrangements without any restrictions.
A broad portfolio
Imperial took over the division in 2011, largely through the acquisition of the Lehnkering group of companies. So far, the HGK group of enterprises includes HTAG, the Neska Group – which HGK also purchased from Imperial Logistics in 2015 – as well as a 50% stake in Rhein Cargo, which it operates in a consortium with the German company Neuss-Düsseldorfer Häfen (NDH).
Imperial Logistics International’s activities in Latin America, including its business in Paraguay, is not a part of the contract. These activities are being reassessed, however, as there has been talk since 2018 of Imperial Holdings again concentrating on its core activities in South Africa. HGK says it has improved its position in "growth segments such as the chemicals as well as the gas transport sectors" as well as its "presence in important maritime gateways in the so-called zara range (Zeebrugge, Antwerp, Rotterdam, Amsterdam)."
