{"id":6497,"date":"2026-09-29T15:27:44","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T12:27:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mikhailinvest.com\/german-security-agencies-baulk-at-cosco-bid-for-zippel\/"},"modified":"2026-09-29T15:27:44","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T12:27:44","slug":"german-security-agencies-baulk-at-cosco-bid-for-zippel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mikhailinvest.com\/zh\/german-security-agencies-baulk-at-cosco-bid-for-zippel\/","title":{"rendered":"German security agencies baulk at Cosco bid for Zippel"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Flozz\n

Photo: \u00a9 Flozz<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

German authorities are reportedly set to block Cosco\u2019s acquisition of Hamburg logistics outfit Konrad Zippel, following pressure from security agencies that the deal would give China too great a handle across regional maritime infrastructure.<\/p>\n

Citing a \u201cclassified\u201d note, German outlet Handelsblatt<\/em> said the federal government was ready to act on concerns, flagged by domestic security services, that the deal formed part of a \u201ccumulative acquisition strategy\u201d to gain a strategic foothold at the port.<\/p>\n

At the time of publishing neither German authorities nor representatives of Hamburg Port Authority or Zippel had responded to requests for comment from \u8f7d\u661f<\/em>, but Zippel MD Axel Plass has rejected security concerns related to the deal.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, Mr Plass said the Cosco deal was about \u201cwinning and retaining cargo\u201d, \u00a0not part of a Chinese plan to gain strategic control over German infrastructure, adding that under the proposals, \u201call jobs will be preserved\u201d.<\/p>\n

Under Cosco\u2019s proposal, the state-owned Chinese shipping giant would acquire an 80% stake in Zippel, through its Dutch subsidiary Goldlead Supply Chain Development, with Mr Plass retaining 20%.<\/p>\n

With the deal for Germany\u2019s oldest freight forwarding company having been cleared by competition authority Bundeskartellamt, back in February, Mr Plass stressed that, from a national security perspective, Zippel has just a 1.5% market share.<\/p>\n

The security agencies are not opposed to the deal, their concern lies in it forming part of a broader acquisition strategy, beginning with Cosco\u2019s contentious 2023 purchase of a 24.99% stake in the Tollerot container terminal (CTT).\u00a0Having initially sought a 35% stake in CTT, German authorities intervened to prevent the deal, on the grounds that giving Cosco \u2013 and, by extension, the Chinese government \u2013 a controlling stake in a Hamburg terminal would be a strategic liability.<\/p>\n

It was only after Chancellor Olaf Scholz stepped in, that a compromise 24.99% stake was reached, although even this necessitated six months of checks and assessments by German security agencies before final sign-off.<\/p>\n

Considered alongside its fleet of vessels and stake in Tollerot, the security agencies believe control of Zippel and its intermodal and hinterland activities would afford the Chinese state influence over a key node of German infrastructure.<\/p>\n

The deal, however, also comes at a time when container lines are expanding their operating footprint well beyond their traditional ocean-going operations, Maersk, through APMT, boasting strong vertical integration at multiple ports around the world, for example.<\/p>\n

Only in August did German operator Hapag-Lloyd announce its plans to acquire a 25% stake in Rotterdam\u2019s APM Terminals Maasvlakte II, citing a desire to secure \u201clong-term\u201d terminal capacity in the region.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Photo: \u00a9 Flozz 29 September 2026 German authorities are reportedly set to block Cosco\u2019s acquisition of Hamburg logistics outfit Konrad Zippel, following pressure from security agencies that the deal would give China too great a handle across regional maritime infrastructure. Citing a \u201cclassified\u201d note, German outlet Handelsblatt said the federal government was ready to act 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\u00a9 Flozz 29 September 2026 German authorities are reportedly set to block Cosco\u2019s acquisition of Hamburg logistics outfit Konrad Zippel, following pressure from security agencies that the deal would give China too great a handle across regional maritime infrastructure. Citing a \u201cclassified\u201d note, German outlet Handelsblatt said the federal government was ready to act…","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/phf4fX-1GN","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/mikhailinvest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/b0caf2d4a4f7015cedf11b81a055cac0-680x0-c-default-oZKutM.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mikhailinvest.com\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6497","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mikhailinvest.com\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mikhailinvest.com\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mikhailinvest.com\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/280549882"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mikhailinvest.com\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6497"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mikhailinvest.com\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6497\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mikhailinvest.com\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6498"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mikhailinvest.com\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6497"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mikhailinvest.com\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6497"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mikhailinvest.com\/zh\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6497"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}