Maersk secures 44% of P&O Nedlloyd as P&O group severs maritime link

Maersk secures 44% of P&O Nedlloyd as P&O group severs maritime link    A.P. Moller-Maersk has secured 44 percent of the shares of its takeover target Royal P&O Nedlloyd after an agreement announced today that London-based Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co. is selling its 25-percent stake in Royal P&O Nedlloyd to two banks that will resell the shares to A.P. Moller-Maersk.
   The transaction also marks P&O’s final exit from the liner shipping business, in which it has been active for decades.
   Danske Bank and Nordea Bank Danmark agreed to buy shareholdings of 15 percent and 10 percent in Royal P&O Nedlloyd from the P&O group at a price of 56.25 euros ($68) per share in cash. The total proceeds from the disposal for P&O will be 571 million euros ($690 million).
   Vagn Led Moller, chief operating officer of Maersk Sealand, said A.P. Moller-Maersk today controls 19.1 percent of Royal P&O Nedlloyd, and will later have the right to buy the additional 25-percent stake from the bank.
   This means the Danish group has secured 44 percent of Royal P&O Nedlloyd's capital ahead of the completion of its formal bid, which was launched earlier this month.
   A.P. Moller-Maersk said it has entered into agreements with Danske Bank and Nordea Bank Danmark on “call and put options” regarding the shares bought from the P&O group. The options can be exercised with effect from the expected settlement date of the public offer for all shares in the capital of Royal P&O Nedlloyd.
   P&O said it expects to record a profit on sale of its shareholding in Royal P&O Nedlloyd of about '175 million ($318 million). Initially, P&O intends to use the cash received from the sale to reduce its debts. “The cash will then be redeployed over time through investment in the group’s fast growing international ports business,” the British group said. Part of the sale proceeds may also be used to narrow deficit of P&O’s main U.K. pension funds.