The international shipping giant Pegg Lloyd submitted an offer for the purchase of Zim

Pegg Lloyd dominates 7.4% of the global container ship market, which places it in fifth place in the world. For the sake of comparison, Zim ranks ninth – with 2.5%. At the same time, Globes learned that the two biggest actresses in the world are also expressing interest in the Israeli company. MSC with 20.2% of the market and Maersk with 14.3% are also considering the move.

The shipping giants are interested in purchasing the company, after the CEO since 2017, Eli Glickman, submitted an offer with shipping tycoon Rami Unger, but the Zim board of directors decided to examine other alternatives as well. The possibility of acquiring control arose after the previous controlling owner, Idan Ofer, through the Canon company, sold his holdings in Zim.

The company’s workers’ committee strongly opposes the move, which is an interesting step on the part of this company. Among the owners of the German company are, among others, Qatar Holdings (12.3%), an arm of the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA); and the Saudi Wealth Fund (PIF) (10.2%).

“They call on the Ministry of Transportation to prevent the sale”

“The purchase of ZIM by Peg Lloyd, which is controlled by Qatar and Saudi Arabia, is a direct danger to the country’s security,” committee chairman Oren Kaspim told Globes. Zim saved the country. 98% of Israel’s trade goes by sea. If Zim is in Qatari-Saudi hands, in the next war we will remain blocked by sea. We do not have an open land border. The sea is our lifeline. The state has a gold stock that allows the deal to be blocked. We call on the minister of transportation and the government to activate it immediately and prevent the sale. This is not another economic deal – it is a question of whether we will have supplies in the next war.”

Zim was issued almost five years ago, at a value of 1.7 billion dollars (after money). The disruptions in the supply chains in the world following the Corona epidemic, boosted the value of the stock to a record of about 10 billion dollars, while the company recorded two extraordinary years with profits of more than 4.5 billion dollars per year and distributed large dividends. After that, it lost most of its value and traded for less than $1 billion. Now, it stands at about 2.4 billion dollars.

In the “Wall Street Journal” they assessed the current price of Tzim shares as expensive. It is trading at a rate of $19.8 per share, and analysts estimate that the price should soon drop to $14.3 per share. Out of seven analysts who cover it, one recommends buying, three more recommend “hold” and three recommend selling. However, their overall position is less negative compared to three months ago.