Maersk sells Danske Bank shares

The shipping giant will return profits from the sale to its shareholders.    A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S will divest its 20.05 percent ownership stake in Danske Bank A/S. The Danish shipping and oil group plans to return the estimated $5.5 billion to its shareholders in the form of an extraordinary cash dividend.
   The group said in a statement it will also offer its shareholders the opportunity to purchase up to nine Danske Bank shares at the prevailing market price.
   Meanwhile, the A.P. Moller Holding A/S, a fully owned subsidiary of the A.P. Moller Foundation, said it has committed to acquire 15 percent of the Danske Bank total share capital from the group. The foundation intends to eventually increase ownership in the Danish bank to 20 percent over time.
   Michael Pram Rasmussen, chairman of the board at A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S, said of the decision, “Over a period we have been met with requests from shareholders to divest our shares in Danske Bank A/S. With the undertaking from A.P. Moller-Holding A/S such a sale is now possible and will at the same time secure a long-term Danish ownership of Danske Bank. In addition A.P. Moller-Maersk  A/S can focus resources on its activities within shipping and oil.
   “A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S has been a major shareholder in Danske Bank since 1928,” Rasmussen added. “It has been a good investment and our shareholders will now benefit from this investment by receiving the extraordinary dividend proposed by the Board. We will also offer, on equal terms, to all our shareholders a possibility to acquire the Danske Bank shares which they until now have owned indirectly.”