Hapag-Lloyd, Maersk lead race to buy ZIM as sale nears decision
Binding offers submitted as labor opposition and political questions loom.
The tender for the sale of Israeli shipping company ZIM is entering its final stages. Calcalist has learned that binding offers to acquire the company were submitted toward the end of last week. ZIM, which is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and currently has no controlling shareholder, is now left with two bidders in the process, with the possibility that a third bidder could join in the coming week.
According to sources close to the process, the two companies that have advanced to the final stage are Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd, the world’s fifth-largest maritime shipping company, with a market capitalization of about $24 billion, and Denmark’s Maersk, the world’s second-largest shipping company, valued at approximately $34 billion. At this stage, however, this information has not been officially confirmed.
The acquisition offer submitted by ZIM’s CEO, Eli Glickman, together with five company vice presidents and car importer Rami Ungar, did not advance to the final stages. Last week, MSC also denied reports that it had submitted a bid to acquire ZIM.
ZIM’s board of directors, chaired by Yair Seroussi, appointed investment bank Evercore to manage the sale process. The bank has led a lengthy screening process, which is now reaching an advanced phase after narrowing down the bids. The financial terms of the offers remain undisclosed. Evercore is now expected to decide whether to proceed with the remaining bids in parallel or to conduct a competitive bidding process between them.
ZIM said in an announcement that "As part of the review of strategic alternatives that has been on-going during the past several months, the ZIM Board of Directors received competitive proposals from multiple strategic parties to acquire all the outstanding ordinary shares of the Company, and it is currently evaluating such proposals with a focus on delivering significant value to all the Company's shareholders."
At the same time, the company’s workers’ union is intensifying its efforts to block the sale. Oren Caspi, chairman of the workers’ union, who met Transportation Minister Miri Regev about ten days ago, held another meeting this week with Knesset Economics Committee Chairman David Bitan. The goal is to advance a move under which the state would exercise its “golden share” and prevent ZIM from being sold to foreign entities. Caspi may also meet with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
As far as is known, no Israeli bidders are currently participating in the acquisition process. Caspi is expected to meet on Tuesday with senior officials in the Histadrut (national trade union), with the aim of declaring a formal labor dispute.
“Our struggle is not only against the German company Hapag-Lloyd, whose shareholders include sovereign wealth funds from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, but against any foreign company,” Caspi said. “We will do everything we can to ensure that ZIM does not pass into foreign hands, but remains Israeli, with an Israeli identity and Israeli interests. As workers, we oppose this move and will launch a dispute, and if necessary, we will strike with all the means at our disposal.”
Caspi rejected claims that the workers’ opposition is intended to extract financial benefits. “We are not interested in money. What matters to us is that the company remains in Israeli hands. Money can always be arranged, but the main thing is that the country maintains an open shipping lane,” he said.
Despite the workers’ objections, no senior political figure has publicly opposed the sale so far, certainly not a sale to a German company, possibly reflecting the importance of Israel’s strategic ties with Germany.
A ZIM shareholders’ meeting is scheduled for this Thursday, during which ten directors will be elected: eight incumbent board members and two additional directors nominated by a group of Israeli shareholders holding approximately 8% of the company’s shares. This group includes Mor Gemel, Reading Capital, and Sparta. The two new directors are expected to join the board only after the sale process concludes, which may explain why the existing board, led by Seroussi, ultimately did not object to their appointment.
The sale process was initiated after CEO Eli Glickman submitted a joint acquisition proposal together with Ungar. The Israeli shareholder group raised serious concerns regarding the board’s handling of that bid, particularly given that Glickman continued to serve as CEO despite the conflict of interest that arose once he became a bidder. Among other issues, shareholders pointed to the potential incentive for ZIM’s share price to remain depressed, thereby lowering the acquisition price.
ZIM currently holds approximately $3 billion in cash, while its market capitalization stands at around $2.4 billion. The company went public on the NYSE in early 2021, raising $217 million at a valuation of $1.5 billion and beginning trading at a market value of $1.7 billion. At its peak, in March 2022, ZIM reached a market capitalization of $10.6 billion. Since then, its valuation has declined sharply.
Idan Ofer was ZIM’s controlling shareholder until the end of 2024, when he sold the remainder of his stake, which he held through holding company Kenon. Since then, ZIM has operated without a controlling shareholder and without a dominant ownership structure.
