Messina signed a memorandum of understanding to sell 49% of the Genoese group to MSC. The strategic agreement includes the Messina terminal, the shipping line, and the group’s corporate offices in central Genoa. This deal follows a key meeting at the Banca Carige headquarters in Genoa, where Ignazio and Stefano Messina, Andrea Gais, Vittorio Malacalza, bank executives, and Gianluigi Aponte finalized the terms.
The financial operation stems from Banca Carige’s urgent need to accelerate its Non-Performing Loans (NPL) reduction. The bank aims to lower its NPL stock to 3.7 billion euros. To achieve this goal, Carige must sell about 1.5 billion euros in bad debt ahead of schedule. The partnership between MSC and Ignazio Messina & C. provides crucial support to the financial institution. Under this agreement, the Aponte family’s group acquires a 49% stake in the Genoese shipping company. Notably, Banca Carige held an exposure of about 420 million euros with the Messina group. Due to widespread shipping industry difficulties, the bank previously classified this substantial sum as a non-performing exposure.
The agreement between the two ocean carriers coincides with major consolidation changes across the maritime sector. Top container lines face intense pressure from severe vessel overcapacity and declining global demand. These market forces prompt major players to enter vessel-sharing alliances or pursue aggressive mergers and acquisitions. For example, industry leader Maersk announced its acquisition of German rival Hamburg Süd. Similarly, Hapag-Lloyd finalized a merger with United Arab Shipping Company. Meanwhile, internal sources confirm that MSC also expanded its footprint by purchasing a stake in US port operator Total Terminals International from South Korea’s Hanjin.
