Status: Clearance; Mitigation

Acquirer:  COSCO SHIPPING Holdings Co., Ltd. (China)

Acquired:  Orient Overseas (International) Ltd. (Hong Kong SAR, China)

Value:  Approximately HK$49.23 Billion (approx. US$6.3 Billion)

Industry:  Transportation; Logistics

UPDATE:   COSCO SHIPPING Holdings Co., Ltd., an international ocean container shipping company incorporated in China, completed the acquisition of Orient Overseas International Ltd (OOIL) in July 2018.  COSCO had originally disclosed the potential acquisition to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in July 2017.  (See COSCO SHIPPING Holdings Co., Ltd. (HKEX Stock Code 1919), Overseas Regulatory Announcement, July 25, 2017.)  According to the Wall Street Journal, the sale was contingent upon the company selling its stake in the Long Beach Container Terminal (See Wall Street Journal, China’s Cosco Puts Long Beach Container Terminal Up for Sale, November 20, 2018).  COSCO was required to place the terminal in a US-run trust and sell it within a year to address CFIUS concerns.  A consortium of investors purchased the terminal in April 2019 for almost $1.8 billion (See Freight Waves, OOCL sells Long Beach terminal for US$1.78 billion, April 30, 2019).

Posted on January 19, 2018

Status: Pending

On July 25, 2017, COSCO SHIPPING Holdings Co., Ltd., an international ocean container shipping company incorporated in China, filed a regulatory announcement on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, stating that its proposed tender to acquire the outstanding shares of Hong Kong based ocean container shipping company Orient Overseas International Ltd (OOIL), the parent company of Orient Overseas Container Line, stated that CFIUS approval was required for the implementation of the transaction. (See COSCO SHIPPING Holdings Co., Ltd. (HKEX Stock Code 1919), Overseas Regulatory Announcement, July 25, 2017.) COSCO SHIPPING Holdings Co., Ltd., made the cash offer through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Faulkner Global, to acquire a majority of the shares in OOIL, but the tender was joined by Shanghai Port Group (BVI) Holding Co Ltd, which will also acquire approximately 10% of the shares. (See id.) As of December 2017, the parties have reported competition authority approvals from the European Commission, United States, and clearance from China’s State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council. (See Journal of Commerce, Cosco given EU green light for OOIL takeover, Dec. 6, 2017.)