US Regulator Gives Nod to COSCO’s OOIL Takeover

COSCO Shipping Holdings’ takeover bid for Orient Overseas International Limited (OOIL) has passed the anti-trust review in the United States, the company said.

The go-ahead comes after COSCO Holdings’ shareholders approved the deal at the extraordinary general meeting held on October 16.

The takeover offer was made in July this year when COSCO Shipping Holdings and Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG) placed a pre-conditional voluntary general offer to acquire all issued OOIL’s shares at an offer price of HKD 78.67 (USD 10.07) in cash, totaling in USD 6.3 billion.

On completion of the transaction, COSCO would hold 90.1%, while SIPG would hold 9.9% of OOIL.

The EU and Chinese regulators still need to give the green light to the deal.

The combined entity, if the merger is completed, would become the world’s third-largest container carrier, with a combined fleet of 400 vessels.

World Maritime News Staff