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The committee said it was informed that approximately 120 employees would remain with the new Zim under FIMI ownership.
By Shula Rosen
Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd completed a $4.2 billion acquisition of Israeli shipping company Zim on Monday, finalizing the deal in Tel Aviv as executives from the German carrier traveled to Israel to conclude the transaction and present its framework to stakeholders, Ynet reported.
The Hapag-Lloyd delegation was led by Chief Executive Rolf Habben Jansen.
After the signing, the company is expected to hold an online news conference with Israeli and German reporters to explain how it plans to manage Zim and to respond to domestic concerns in Israel about transferring ownership of a strategic shipping firm to a foreign company.
As part of the agreement, Hapag-Lloyd will divest Zim’s Israeli operations to the FIMI private equity fund, separating the local business from the broader international transaction.
FIMI Chief Executive Ishay Davidi said the fund considers it essential to preserve an independent and viable Israeli shipping company.
“We are establishing a stable Israeli company, the new Zim, and see Hapag-Lloyd as a significant strategic partner for its continued operations,” Davidi told Ynet. He said FIMI plans to invest in building an advanced and efficient fleet with broad logistics capabilities, describing the arrangement as a strategic opportunity to create a focused shipping company with financial resilience operating alongside one of the world’s leading carriers.
According to Davidi, the new Zim will emphasize trans-Atlantic shipping while expanding services to Europe, Africa, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, with customers placed at the center of its operational strategy.
The signing followed a period of labor unrest at Zim. Company operations were halted ahead of the agreement, and no meetings took place Monday between management and the workers’ committee after negotiations the previous day broke down.
The workers’ committee, chaired by Oren Caspi, rejected proposals submitted by the board.
The board was represented in the talks by director Nir Epstein and attorney Ariel Aminach of the Meitar law firm.
The committee said it was informed that approximately 120 employees would remain with the new Zim under FIMI ownership.
Hapag-Lloyd is expected to establish a research and development center in Israel that would absorb Zim’s technology employees, and some of the company’s roughly 800 remaining workers could be integrated into that facility.
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