EU conditionally approves Hapag-Lloyd and CSAV’s merger

The European Union (EU) has approved the merger between Hapag-Lloyd and Compania SudAmericana de Vapores (CSAV).

The approval is conditional on CSAV withdrawing from two consortia on the trade between northern Europe, the Caribbean and South America’s West Coast as the European Commission said the merged company would face insufficient competition on these routes.

EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said: “Through these commitments, our decision averts the risk that the merger could lead to any price increase.”