The economy ministry stopped Chinese state-owned Cosco from buying 80 percent of Zippel, citing supply-chain security. Germany's antitrust authority had cleared the deal in February.
The German government blocked the sale of logistics firm Zippel to Chinese state-owned shipping group Cosco on security grounds, the economy ministry said on Wednesday, Reuters reported. Cosco had aimed to buy an 80 percent stake. Zippel specialises in moving containers between seaports and inland destinations.
The ministry said the acquisition would have deepened dependencies and jeopardised the resilience of German and European Union supply chains. Germany's antitrust authority cleared the deal in February and said national security considerations fell outside its scope.
Zippel chief executive Axel Plass said the company would have preferred a different outcome and still considered its business decision the right one. He said day-to-day operations would continue as before. Cosco did not immediately reply to a request for comment, Reuters reported.
Cosco already holds a minority stake in a container terminal in the port of Hamburg after the previous German government approved that investment in 2023 despite disagreement inside the coalition. European governments have grown more wary of Chinese state firms in logistics and transport.
The decision is the blocking order. No court challenge was reported in the Reuters dispatch. The item is assigned to Germany because the prohibition is a German government action.
People Sentiments Negative
- The economy ministry said the deal would have jeopardised supply-chain resilience.
- Axel Plass said Zippel would have preferred a different outcome.