Splash247: Glickman’s $2.4bn play for ZIM rejected as board eyes wider options

Israeli shipping company ZIM has rejected an offer to acquire the company at a $2.4bn valuation. ZIM announced on Tuesday that it has formed a team to examine strategic alternatives regarding the company’s future.

The move followed a non-binding offer submitted by ZIM CEO Eli Glickman and Rami Ungar, who heads up Ray Car Carriers, to purchase all of the company’s shares and delist it from the New York Stock Exchange. The offer was submitted a few months ago but was officially disclosed for the first time on Tuesday.

ZIM’s board of directors said yesterday it is looking at alternatives and has received indications of interest from multiple parties, including strategic interest, which it is evaluating carefully.

“A transaction is complicated, in our view, as the company has a substantial cash position, a key attractive factor, but also a high-cost operation, which can lead to meaningful cash burn in a soft freight environment (which we forecast ahead),” suggested shipping analysts at investment bank Jefferies in a note to clients.

ZIM is the 10th largest container line in the world, operating a fleet of just over 700,000 slots. Glickman has been the CEO of the company since 2017, taking the line public via a New York IPO fin 2021.