Sinolines and China Merchants affiliates intensify control over Antong

Antong Holdings, the holding company of domestic shipping line Quanzhou
Ansheng Shipping, could be the target of a hostile takeover by Sinotrans
Container Lines (Sinolines) after its attempt to acquire the latter failed in May.

Antong, which also owns forwarder Quanzhou Antong Logistics, informed the Shanghai Stock Exchange on 11 July that Sinolines, a subsidiary of the state-controlled China Merchants Energy Shipping (CMES), and several of the latter’s related entities, had acquired 13.8% of Antong’s shares. This makes Sinolines and its affiliates Antong’s largest stakeholders. Sinolines tself has 7.89% of Antong’s shares, while China Merchants Ports Holdings, which previously had 6.83%, sold some of its stocks to Sinolines, reducing its own interest to 5.9%.