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US: Shock for Japanese shipping lines as merger plan is rejected by US

By  |  May 3, 2017

The US Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) has rejected the tripartite agreement that would allow the companies to operate as a merged entity before the merger itself of the container businesses of K Line, MOL and NYK on “jurisdictional grounds”.

The matter will now be referred to the US Department of Justice (DoJ), which could delay or halt the proposed joint-venture.

In a statement, the FMC said: “The Shipping Act does not provide the FMC with authority to review and approve mergers. After careful consideration, the commission determined that parties to the ‘tripartite agreement’ (filed with the FMC on 24 March) were ultimately establishing a merged, new business entity and that action is among the type of agreements excluded from the FMC review.”

The approval of the agreement would have allowed the three Japanese shipping lines to begin sharing information and conduct joint negotiations from 8 May, ahead of the formation of a joint-venture company in April next year.

Full Content: Maritime Executive

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