Consultants back ZIM board against opposition shareholders

The board of directors of ZIM Integrated Shipping Services (NYSE: ZIM) has received offers from several leading shipping companies as it examines strategic possibilities for the company. After “Globes” revealed that a takeover bid had been received from Hapag-Lloyd, another offer was received, as far as is known from a larger company, MSC. Maersk has also been mentioned as interested in ZIM.

ZIM’s board stated in response: “The process of the strategic review of alternatives for yielding value to the shareholders is progressing, and several proposals from leading companies are being examined. We will not comment on the identity of the parties or the content of the proposals until an agreement has been reached.”

ZIM, headed by Eli Glickman, has a market cap of $2.26 billion. Last month, Glickman together with shipping magnate Rami Ungar submitted an offer for the company that was turned down, but the board subsequently embarked on a process of examining strategic alternatives.

Meanwhile, the ZIM board has received support in its battle with a group of shareholders seeking to appoint directors on its behalf. Consultancy and proxy advisor Glass, Lewis & Co. has recommended to its customers to support the board’s proposal at the company’s forthcoming shareholders meeting and to oppose the move by the shareholder group. It thereby joins proxy advisor ISS, which also recommended supporting the board’s proposal.

A group of Israeli shareholders holding a total of 8% of ZIM recently put forward three candidates of their own for the board: Dr. Keren Bar-Hava CPA, Ron Hadassi, and Ran Gritzerstein. After a few days, two directors resigned, and former supervisor of banks at the Bank of Israel Yair Avidan, and Dr. Yoram Turbowicz, a former competition commissioner and head of the prime minister’s bureau, were appointed in their place.

ZIM shareholders will be asked which directors they wish to see on the board, Avidan and Turbowicz or the three candidates put forward by the shareholder group. Altogether, the shareholders will elect eight directors from eleven candidates.

Glass, Lewis & Co. states that the fears raised by the shareholder group about the possibility of a management buyout led by Glickman ignore the fact that the ownership of the company is very decentralized, with the ten largest shareholders holding only 1.2-2.4% each. With such an ownership structure, any acquisition offer (whether from the management or from an external buyer) will require broad support among the shareholders to succeed.

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Glass, Lewis adds that the board’s actions reflect an effort to ensure an impartial process, and that the campaign by the opposing shareholders is not based on evidence and that they have not presented a convincing argument for electing their candidates.

ZIM chairperson Yair Seroussi welcomed the recommendation to support the board’s candidates, saying, “The shareholders have clear external confirmation that the board of directors supervising the strategic review is independent, empowered, and acting for the benefit of all the shareholders. I hope that the Israeli institutions will join the investors in general in reaching the appropriate result. We are committed to the continuation of a transparent and punctilious process, even as the review approaches its conclusion.”

Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on December 14, 2025.

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2025.