US: COSCO and Orient cleared for merger

On Monday, October 23, COSCO Shipping and Orient Overseas released a joint statement claiming that US regulators have found no antitrust violations with the proposed merger of the two companies.

The applicable period for US antitrust regulators to dispute or raise concerns with the proposed merger offer have expired, meaning that this precondition of the merger agreement “has been fulfilled,” the carriers said.

This approval of the US$6.3 billion acquisition clears the penultimate condition for the deal, with only EU approval still pending.

Last week, COSCO shareholders approved the acquisition of 90.1% of Orient for US$10.07 per share in cash, with Shanghai International Port Group gaining the other 9.9%.

Full Content: American Shipper

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