Hapag Lloyd achieves unconditional Phase 2 approval for the acquisition of port operator SAAM

Compass Lexecon client, Hapag Lloyd, an international liner shipping company, successfully received unconditional phase 2 approval for the acquisition of SAAM from the Chilean competition authority, the "FNE". SAAM is a major port and logistics operator in the Americas and it operates ten ports in Mexico, the United States, Colombia, Ecuador, Costa Rica and Chile. In Chile, SAAM manages five ports, including San Antonio Terminal Internacional (STI).

The Compass Lexecon Chile team conducted a comprehensive analysis of the vertical effects of the transaction. First, the team focused on the definition of the relevant geographic market for the ports. Secondly, they analyzed the efficiencies of the transactions and the benefits that it could bring to end customers. Finally, they assessed the existence of foreclosure risks including through the calculation of vertical pricing pressure indices adapted to the characteristics of the transaction. The competition authority’s final decision explicitly considered many of the arguments and the methodology proposed in Compass Lexecon’s report.

The Compass Lexecon team comprised of Fernando Coloma, Gabriel Fernández, Vicente Munita, and Bernardita Silva. They worked alongside the parties’ legal counsels, Carey and Claro. Carey, legal counsel of Hapag Lloyd, was led by José Pardo, Gonzalo Soto, Ismael Bahamonde and Fernando Flores, and Claro, legal counsel of SAAM, was led by José Miguel Huerta, Juan Pablo Celis, Tomás Gothe, Joaquín Plaza and Fernanda Cabezón.