Direct ChassisLink Inc. is buying Hyundai Merchant Marine’s chassis fleet that operates in the U.S.

The fleet includes 23,000 vessels. Chassis’ are support systems of trucks and other transportation vehicles that hold shipping containers. 

Hyundai Merchant Marine, headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, is an ocean carrier that operates more than 40 sea routes.

Charlotte, N.C.-based Direct ChassisLink provides chassis product lines to motor carriers, ocean carriers and cargo owners. The company also offers management services. Direct ChassisLink is owned by an affiliate of private equity firm Littlejohn & Co., a Greenwich, Conn.-based private equity firm.

The two companies entered into an agreement under which Direct ChassisLink will be Hyundai Merchant Marine’s exclusive chassis provider in the U.S. 

The shipping industry is seeing lots of M&A recently, including interest from private equity firms in distressed shipping businesses. For more, see "Floundering Freeseas Negotiates with Lender," "Littlejohn Invests in Consolidating Shipping Industry," "Marine Shippers Aim to Stay Afloat" and "Deal of the Year: Diamond S Shipping."