The German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd has confirmed that it is maintaining "advanced negotiations" for the possible acquisition of the entirety of the shares of its Israeli competitor Zim Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. (ZIM), in a move that, if materialized, would have direct implications for the structure of the global container shipping market.
The announcement comes after several failed attempts to take control of ZIM occurred throughout 2025. The first of these was a buyout offer led by the CEO of the Israeli shipping company, Eli Glickman, along with investor Rami Ungar, for an estimated price of between 2.3 and 2.4 billion dollars. The proposal was rejected by ZIM's board of directors, which considered that it "significantly undervalued the company." Since then, speculation about potential buyers has not ceased, with names like Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) and A.P. Møller-Mærsk among the candidates most cited by industry sources.
In December 2025, ZIM confirmed it had received "competitive proposals from multiple strategic parties" for the acquisition of all its outstanding ordinary shares, and announced that it was evaluating the offers "with the aim of generating significant value for all the company's shareholders."
Hapag-Lloyd has specified that, to date, no binding agreement has been signed. The operation still requires approval from the Management Board and the Supervisory Board of the German company, as well as from the competent corporate bodies of the counterparty. Furthermore, the consent of the State of Israel is necessary under the special rights outlined in ZIM's statutes. In this context, the German shipping company has indicated that negotiations with FIMI Opportunity Funds, an Israeli financial investor, for assuming the obligations arising from those special rights are at an advanced stage. The completion of the transaction would also require additional regulatory approvals and the approval of ZIM's shareholders' meeting.
According to information published by the Israeli media Calcalist, the operation—valued at up to 3.7 billion dollars—could be structured in such a way that assets considered of national strategic importance for Israel, including Israeli-flagged vessels linked to the so-called golden share of the State, remain outside Hapag-Lloyd's control perimeter. The German shipping company would take control of the chartered fleet, according to this same source.
ZIM currently operates a fleet of approximately 120 container ships with a total capacity of 704,450 TEUs, making it the tenth-largest container shipping company in the world according to Alphaliner data. Of this total, 15 vessels are owned (92,934 TEUs) and 102 are chartered (611,516 TEUs).
Lars Jensen, CEO of Vespucci Maritime, has indicated that the operation would disadvantage MSC and benefit the Gemini Cooperation alliance, especially on transpacific routes, where MSC and ZIM currently share vessels on six services. According to Jensen, once the acquisition is completed, those flows would migrate to the Gemini network. The analyst added that the incorporation of ZIM's chartered fleet would raise Hapag-Lloyd's chartered tonnage percentage from the current 39% to approximately 52% of the combined fleet, which would grant the shipping company greater operational flexibility in a volatile market context with declining rates.
The negotiations take place amid a period of normalization of sector results following the historic highs recorded during the pandemic. ZIM transported 926,000 TEUs in the third quarter of 2025, compared to 970,000 TEUs during the same period in 2024. The average rate per TEU stood at 1,602 dollars in the third quarter of 2025, compared to 2,480 dollars in the third quarter of 2024. Operating income (EBIT) fell to 259 million dollars, down from 1,240 million in the same quarter the previous year, while net profit decreased to 123 million dollars from 1,130 million recorded a year earlier, burdened by weakened revenues. In its third-quarter results, ZIM updated its forecasts for the entire year of 2025 with adjusted EBITDA between 2,000 and 2,200 million dollars and adjusted EBIT between 700 and 900 million, although it has not yet published its full annual results.