Its board members agreed to buy the stake in Total Terminals International LLC (TTI), owned by its troubled rival, for $15.6 million.
HMM said the deal will also give a 20 percent stake in HTEC, an equipment leasing firm, to the shipper.
On Wednesday (local time), a U.S. court allowed Hanjin Shipping to sell its stake in TTI, which is running container facilities in Long Beach, Calif., and Seattle.
The deal will make HMM the No. 2 stakeholder in TTI after TiL, a subsidiary of Geneva-based shipper MSC, which owns the remaining stake in TTI.
TTI’s board will be comprised of two directors from MSC and one from HMM.
Hanjin Shipping filed for court receivership in August last year after it failed to address snowballing debt.
“HMM will start cooperation with 2M Alliance in April and business on the line between Asia and the U.S. will improve, which will naturally raise the cargo volume at the Long Beach Terminal,” an HMM official said.