Port Merger News

The owners of the respective harbours, municipalities of Umeå and Vaasa, have agreed to set up a joint company, Kvarkenhamnar AB. The new entity with head office in Umeå will take over port management from the Swedish and Finnish local governments as from the 1st of January, 2015. Kvarkenhamnar AB will be owned 50/50 by the founders who will contribute with ca. EUR 1.65 mln each to the share capital. The ports' current staff will be employed in the new company. Kvarkenhamnar's board of directors will be equally split between Umeå and Vaasa. In the case when the board's president will come from Sweden, the company's CEO will be from Finland, and vice versa.

Reports said that shipping and business groups say a proposed merger of New Zealand's largest ports will cut costs. The Ports of Auckland and Ports of Tauranga say they are in advanced discussions about working together, making savings for exporters through a more efficient supply chain. The Employers' & Manufacturers' Association agrees the merger has the potential to reduce costs. The association says they could keep the land but publicly float the combined company, freeing ratepayers' money for investment in other areas. The talks come as Danish shipping company Maersk reviews the option of dealing with a single port in the North and South Islands. Source: Radio NZ