[210218.EN.BIZ] ZEABORN Buys ER Schiffahrt; Adds 61 Box Ships, 20 Bulk Carriers to Fleet

THE ZEABORN Group has acquired 100 per cent of the business shares in E R Schiffahrt GmbH & Cie KG for an undisclosed amount. The completion of the transaction is subject to antitrust clearance.

With retrospective effect from January 1 2018, E R Schiffahrt's management, staff and subsidiaries, including the shipbroker Harper Petersen & Co, will be integrated into ZEABORN Group.

With the takeover of E R Schiffahrt, ZEABORN said it "has achieved another important milestone on its way to becoming an integrated and globally operating shipping company in both line and tramp shipping." Through the acquisition, ZEABORN's shipping fleet under commercial and technical management will expand by 61 container vessels and 20 bulk carriers to total 165 vessels.

Once E R Schiffahrt with all its subsidiaries and the shipbroker Harper Petersen have been integrated, the ZEABORN Group will employ 360 staff on shore and 5,000 staff at sea. It will have locations in Asia, Europe and the US.

The ZEABORN Group was founded by Kurt Zech together with ZEABORN managing partners Ove Meyer and Jan-Hendrik Tobbe in 2013. The group is an integrated shipping company operating globally that provides services along the entire value-added chain and caters for capital market requirements.

"We are very pleased that in E R Schiffahrt we were able to add a well-known shipping manager to our group of companies, which is a great fit for our portfolio and with whom we can further optimise our services for our customers," explained Mr Meyer and Mr Tobbe in a statement.

"With this fleet expansion, we can further improve both quality and quantity of our products and services to the benefit of our customers. Our approach remains the same: we are an integrated shipping company that is open for partnerships and acquisitions," ZEABORN's managing partners added.

"The consolidation in the German ship management sector has long been overdue and ZEABORN is pursuing a dynamic growth strategy. E R Schiffahrt is a profitable company that is extremely well managed," E R Capital Holding CEO Jochen Klosges said in reference to the transaction.

"Combined with ZEABORN's existing activities, the company will now reach the critical size that is necessary to successfully compete on a global scale," added Mr Klosges.

Source : HKSG.