Hutchison Port Holdings Ltd and the Rotterdam's municipal port authority want to acquire joint control over the Rotterdam container terminal operator ECT.
ECT and Hutchison are both active in stevedoring services sector to deep-sea container vessels in ports. Rotterdam's municipal port authority is responsible for developing and managing the city's port.
Given that the merger is composed of the 1st, 4th and 9th largest container terminal operators in Northern Europe, the Hutchison's control over the container terminals at the deep-sea ports of Felixstowe and Thamesport, and the ECT's control in Rotterdam will lead to a significant addition of capacity.
Following clients and competitors concern about the merger, the European Commission in its preliminary investigation concluded that the creation or strengthening of a dominant position is possible on the overall market for stevedoring services for deep-sea container vessels, and also on narrower-defined markets.
A final decision will now be taken within a period of four months.
This article is based and incorporates information provided by the European Commission (Press Releases) and is intended for general information. Specialist advice should be sought before acting on it.
In-depth inquiry into acquisition of European Combined Terminals BV (ECT) by Hutchison and the Rotterdam port authority
