Cosco Shipping in Talks to Acquire OOCL
China Cosco Shipping Corporation Limited (Cosco Shipping) is reportedly a contender to buy Hong Kong-based Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) in a deal valued at more than $4bn, Wall Street Journal reported.
The market has been rifted with speculations that OOCL, the container arm of Orient Overseas International Limited (OOIL) could be up for sale amid the ongoing consolidation of the global container shipping sector, MANA correspondent reported.
The media report wrote that state-owned Cosco Shipping is in the process of preparing a bid valued at more than $4bn to acquire its competitor OOCL. Cosco Shipping Lines, the container arm of Cosco Shipping, and OOCL are members of the Ocean Alliance that is scheduled to start operations in April this year.
Analyst Drewry mentioned earlier that OOCL would be a good buy given its established reputation and track record of profitability even in tough markets.
At present, Cosco Shipping Lines is the world’s fourth biggest carrier with a carrying capacity of some 1.58m teu and accounting for around 7.5% of global market share, behind Maersk Line, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) and CMA CGM. OOCL is the world’s eighth biggest line with a carrying capacity of 575,000 teu accounting for 2.8% of market share.