CMA CGM accelerates its development strategy in South America

CMA CGM and Maersk Line announced that they have entered into a binding agreement whereby CMA CGM would acquire Mercosul Line (Mercosul), one of the leading players in Brazil’s domestic container shipping market.

The acquisition of Mercosul would allow CMA CGM to strengthen its service offering to and from South America, most notably in Brazil, a market with a strong potential for development, especially on cabotage and “door-to-door” services.

Mercosul would reinforce the CMA CGM portfolio of intra-regional sea transportation links and complementary services such as logistics:

• – CMA CGM already benefits from a strong presence on the intra-regional markets thanks to Mac Andrews (acquired in 2002), and OPDR (acquired in 2014) in Europe, and APL (acquired in 2016) and CNC (acquired in 2007) in Asia.
• – CMA CGM also aims to offer its customers a complete service, including intermodal and logistics solutions.

The Mercosul transaction is subject to Brazilian regulatory approval and the closing of Maersk’s Hamburg Süd acquisition. At the earliest, the integration of Mercosul within CMA CGM will start at the same time as the Hamburg Süd integration, which is expected in Q4 2017. Until then, Mercosul Line will continue  business as usual.

The transaction will ensure that the cabotage sector in Brazil remains competitive and that customers  will continue to benefit from a comprehensive choice of carriers.

In addition to the services deployed by Mercosul, CMA CGM will leverage on its expanded footprint in the region to accelerate its development strategy. As a result, the Group will reinforce its product offering between South America, North Europe and Mediterranean and increase its port coverage in South America.

This new product offering will be implemented during the fourth quarter of 2017, pending regulatory approvals, and further details will be announced in due time.

The acquisition of Mercosul combined with the enhanced service offering between South America, North Europe and Mediterranean will significantly reinforce CMA CGM in South America, a market with a strong growth potential. It is part of CMA CGM’s strategy to pursue its development by providing its customers with a complete door-to-door service offering.