Maersk Mulls Quick Acquisitions
Danish shipping giant A.P. Moeller-Maersk A/S’s container altered its strategy this month by planning to expand its fleet through acquisition, breaking from its previous preference of building its own boats, reports Forbes.
Though, container line, which this month ditched a strategy of building new vessels and will instead try to grow through acquisitions, is targeting South Korea’s two biggest shipping firms, Bloomber quoted as Jefferies International Ltd, saying.
Maersk Line’s new focus will be on “gaining market share organically” under the new strategic plan unveiled by the Maersk Group on September 22, while keeping its options open in regards to potential opportunistic acquisitions, according to Alphaliner.
Following from the bankruptcy of Hanjin Shipping last month, the market may see a rapid restructuring as the Danish shipper grabs an easy opportunity. Hyundai Merchant Marine Co. is also in the middle of a creditor-led debt-restructuring program
Both are in need of a strong partner and Maersk Line, the world’s biggest, is probably the only rival with the financial muscle to manage a takeover, David Kerstens, Jefferies’s transport analyst in London, said in an interview.
The fleet of Hanjin is certainly an attractive proposition. It operates 97 container ships, 69 of which are chartered and the remaining 60 are chartered. Crucially, it possesses five large vessels that can carry 13,000 containers.
Hyundai Merchant has about 2 percent of the global market while Hanjin Shipping had roughly 3 percent, about half of which was chartered vessels.
Although Maersk Line, the shipping company of the Danish conglomerate, is already the world’s largest ocean-bound freighter, the acquisition would represent a major extension of its capacity.
