HHLA acquires Estonia’s biggest terminal operator Transiidikeskuse
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A corresponding contract was signed on 26 March. The new subsidiary will be allocated contractually and organisationally to HHLA International.
This will make HHLA the market leader in container handling at the Port of Muuga, located close to the Estonian capital Tallinn. Since 2005, HHLA is also operating a container terminal outside of Hamburg in the Ukrainian city of Odessa.
The Port of Muuga is the main port in Estonia and an important maritime location in the Baltic region.
The company newly acquired by HHLA is the clear market leader in container handling in the Baltic country and also operates a multipurpose terminal for break bulk, bulk and RoRo handling.
The location is developing into a multimodal hub as a result of regional infrastructural projects (such as the Rail Baltica project). With the acquisition of Transiidikeskuse AS, HHLA is expanding its regional diversification.
The container terminal currently has a high utilisation of its capacity of approximately 300 thousand TEU which can be increased to around 800 thousand TEU.
HHLA expects to leverage synergies by further professionalising sales and operations and integrating the port operator into the HHLA network.
Completion of the transaction is subject to various conditions precedent and is expected to occur in the second quarter of 2018. HHLA’s Supervisory Board has already approved the acquisition. ■