Germany Agrees to Sell 25% Stake in Hamburg Port Terminal to COSCO

The German government has approved the acquisition of a minority stake of less than 25% in the operating company HHLA Container Terminal Tollerort GmbH (CTT) by the Chinese company COSCO Shipping Port Limited (CSPL), subject to conditions.

In September 2021 HHLA and CSPL had signed an agreement according to which the Chinese company would acquire a minority share of 35 percent in Container Terminal Tollerort.

The sale of the shares was subject to approval by the German government under investment law. Although both companies immediately submitted the necessary documents to the Federal Ministry of Economics, the review process dragged on until well into 2022.

In August, HHLA and CSPL agreed to an extension of the deadline until 31 October in order to bring the process to a successful conclusion.

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Angela Titzrath, Chairwoman of HHLA's Executive Board, declared: “We appreciate that a solution has been found in objective and constructive talks with the Federal Government.

"Our long-standing Chinese partner COSCO Shipping Ports Limited can acquire a minority share of less than 25 percent in the operating company of Container Terminal Tollerort (CTT) GmbH in Hamburg, subject to the conditions imposed by the Federal Government.

"We will negotiate a corresponding adjustment of the agreement with CSPL in the near future."

With CSPL's investment, CTT will become a preferred hub for Asian traffic. HHLA retains sole control over all major decisions.

COSCO will not receive any exclusive rights to CTT - the terminal will remain open to container volumes from all customers.

CSPL also does not gain access to strategic know-how, and IT and sales data remain the sole responsibility of HHLA. German law will continue to apply in all matters.

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