Cosco Shipping eyes acquiring Orient Overseas for $8.7b

This will make Cosco the world's third largest shipping line.

Bloomberg reported that Cosco Shipping Holdings Co. offered US$6.3b ($8.7b) to acquire the container carrier controlled by former Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa’s family in a deal that would catapult the mainland Chinese group into world’s third-largest shipping line.

State-owned Cosco will pay shareholders of Orient Overseas International Ltd., Hong Kong’s No. 1 box mover, HK$78.67 a share in cash, a 31% premium over the stock’s last closing price. The Tung family, which founded Orient Overseas Container Line in 1969, has accepted the offer, which still needs regulatory approvals and consent from Cosco’s investors.

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