(New: Details)

HAMBURG (dpa-AFX) - The world's largest container shipping company MSC wants to join Hamburg port logistics company HHLA. The Geneva-based group and the Hanseatic city signed a binding preliminary agreement on Wednesday to establish a strategic partnership, both sides announced. The city currently holds around 69 percent of HHLA, which is listed on the stock exchange. In the future, this will be jointly managed in a joint venture, with the city holding 50.1 percent and MSC 49.9 percent of the shares.

To make this possible, MSC will make a takeover offer for all currently freely traded shares at a price of 16.75 euros per share. At the same time, MSC will significantly increase its cargo volume in Hamburg from 2025. From 2031 onwards, this is to be at least one million standard containers per year.

Hamburg's mayor, Peter Tschentscher (SPD), spoke of a landmark transaction that would lead to a strategic partnership between the city and one of the world's leading shipping companies. "This can give our entire maritime economy the boost it needs in difficult times."

German Economics Minister Robert Habeck has no objections to the entry plans for now. Switzerland is integrated into a European economic order differently than China, the Green politician said in Berlin on Wednesday. There, he said, there is no need to check per se whether investments violate safety and order.

MSC CEO Soren Toft said this "very important and strategic cooperation" would make the Hanseatic city a hub for his company. "In the future, we will connect much deeper, much closer to Hamburg." MSC is a growing company, he said. "Now we underline, a significant part of our growth comes here in Hamburg."

A new German headquarters is to be built in Hafencity, and the cruise division MSC Cruises is also to get a new home port here. With an additional 700 jobs, the number of employees in Hamburg will more than double, Toft said.

Two points were at the forefront of the negotiations with MSC, said Finance Senator Andreas Dressel (SPD): "We have to retain the majority and we have to ensure co-determination." Both had been achieved with MSC, he added.

Recently, billionaire Klaus-Michael Kühne had sharply criticized HHLA's management and signaled his willingness to take over the majority of shares in the port company. The Senate had reacted coolly to this. After the announcement of the partnership with MSC, Kühne expressed his disgust.

He told the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" and the "Hamburger Abendblatt" that the planned move was an affront above all to Hapag-Lloyd as the largest user and thus the largest shipping company customer of the Port of Hamburg. "First access to a minority stake in HHLA should of course have been granted to a real Hamburg company like Hapag-Lloyd."

He could only strongly advise Hapag-Lloyd, in which he holds 30 percent through his Kühne Holding, to make a takeover bid for 49.9 percent of HHLA shares itself. "If Hapag-Lloyd would not do it, my Kühne Holding AG is considering doing it in the short term," he told the newspaper.

Hapag-Lloyd, however, was cautious. They take note of the announcement, shipping company CEO Rolf Habben Jansen told dpa. "We assume that this will not affect our cooperation with HHLA."

MSC's planned entry and the vague prospect of a bidding war caused a firestorm in HHLA shares on Wednesday. Within hours of the announcement, the share price jumped by almost half to 17.22 euros. HHLA shares thus continued their good run of the past few days, which was already buoyed by fantasy regarding the entry of new investors.

MSC is the world's largest container shipping company, ahead of Denmark's APM-Maersk. According to the company, its container arm comprises 760 ships calling at 520 ports in 155 countries. Through its subsidiary TiL, the company already has interests in about 70 terminals worldwide.

In Bremerhaven, MSC has a stake in MSC Gate Bremerhaven in a joint venture with Eurogate. This 50 percent stake is to continue, Toft said. However, in the future, the focus will be more on Hamburg./fi/klm/DP/ngu