Container line MSC and the Hamburg City Council have yet to acquire around six percent of the shares in the listed port operator HHLA to secure control of all shares in the company.

According to Deutsche Verkehrs-Zeitung (DVZ), MSC and the city government together owned 84% of the shares in the operator when MSC’s offer to buy HHLA shares expired on Tuesday night.

The acquisition of shares in HHLA will open the door for MSC to become a co-owner of the port company with a stake of up to 49.9% of the shares.

The City of Hamburg will continue to control HHLA via a majority stake of 51.1% of the shares after MSC’s entry into the company, but initially the parties aim to secure control of 90% of the shares.