German container line Hapag-Lloyd has completed its acquisition of a 25% stake in APM Terminals Maasvlakte II in Rotterdam, after the deal received unconditional antitrust approval. The transaction was first announced in August 2026. Financial terms have not been disclosed.
The investment was made through Hanseatic Global Terminals (HGT), Hapag-Lloyd’s terminal arm, which aims to build a portfolio of up to 30 facilities in key markets over the next few years. APM Terminals keeps operational control of the Maasvlakte II facility.
A key hub for the Gemini network
The terminal is a key European hub for the Gemini Cooperation, the east–west network Hapag-Lloyd runs with Maersk. An expansion now under way is adding berth and yard capacity and further automation, and once it is complete the terminal is expected to handle about 5.4 million TEU a year.
Dheeraj Bhatia, Chief Technology and Information Officer of Hapag-Lloyd AG and CEO of HGT, said the company was very pleased to have completed the transaction and become a shareholder, and that it would support the terminal’s growth together with APM Terminals.
Harold Kunst, Managing Director of APM Terminals Maasvlakte II, said Hapag-Lloyd’s shareholding supports the terminal’s long-term growth and expansion, while the terminal’s focus stays on operating safely and reliably and delivering the added capacity customers need.
Carriers keep buying into terminals
The deal is the latest in a run of terminal investments by carriers and port groups. This week Ningbo-Zhoushan Port bid for a $157m stake in Brazil’s Paranaguá container terminal, and Hutchison Ports added cranes at Sydney’s Port Botany for 15,000 TEU ships.
Sources: WorldCargo News, Splash247, Hapag-Lloyd.
