ruben.maritime

HAMBURG 15 December – German entrepreneur Günter Herz has emerged as the winner in the takeover race for Germanischer Lloyd. Shareholders representing over 40% of GL’s share capital officially agreed to sell their stakes to Herz at a meeting in Hamburg today. Others were still deciding to sign sale contracts as the shareholder meeting came to a close, attendants reported. Acceptance might rise to around 60% eventually, some believe. Herz’s bid, which was promoted by GL’s board all the way, valued the German society at around euro550M ($724M) while French rival Bureau Veritas offered around euro500M. GL's management praised the agreement as an amicable “Hamburg solution” that will cement the class society’s independence. “This is the best solution for all our maritime and industrial clients who can now continue to rely on our high safety and quality standards,” said executive board member Rainer Schöndube. After five turbulent weeks in which GL’s management struggled hard to keep the group’s shareholders at it, the society can now “concentrate on its actual day-to-day work again”, he said.

 

Etiquetas: classification societies, international maritime affairs

This entry was posted on viernes, diciembre 15, 2006 at 5:52 p. m.. You can skip to the end and leave a response.