• Maersk unit APM Terminals has agreed to divest its 30.75% shareholding in Russia’s Global Ports Investments PLC to long-time partner Delo Group

• The deal has been reached on an arm’s length basis and includes the possibility for APMT to re-enter the partnership with Delo in the future, Maersk says

• With the divestment from Global Ports, APMT will no longer be involved in any entities operating in Russia or own any assets in that country

Maersk is quitting Russia  via a divestment of its holdings in Global Ports Investments PLC (GPI), a port operator in that country, the Danish global shipping and logistics giant announced in Copenhagen on August 30.

A.P. Moller-Maersk’s port business, APM Terminals (APMT), has agreed to divest its 30.75% shareholding in GPI to long-standing partner Delo Group, Maersk said.

The divestment comes nearly six months after Maersk announced its commitment to end activities in Russia following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24 this year.

The APMT transaction is a binding agreement that is subject to regulatory approval. With the transaction, joint venture partner Delo Group, which also owns 30.75% of GPI’s capital stock, will now become the controlling shareholder with a 61.5% shareholding.

Maersk said the transaction has been undertaken on an arm’s-length basis and includes the possibility for APMT to re-enter the partnership with Delo in the future.

“We are pleased that we have now concluded this transaction according to the plan and with our long-standing partner Delo, enabling us (an) orderly exit from GPI in line with our decision to discontinue activities in Russia,” said Keith Svendsen, chief executive of APM Terminals.

With its shares in GPI divested, APMT will no longer be involved in any business in Russia or own any assets it that country. The transfer of share ownership will take place after regulatory approvals have been obtained.

Delo said the parties entered into the transaction on agreed market terms.

The price of the deal was not disclosed. But on the Copenhagen bourse on Monday, AP Moller-Maersk closed 1.12% down to Danish krone 18,170 (USD$1,112.47) per share.

On the London Stock Exchange, Global Ports Holdings, GPI’s parent, ended flat at £89.50 on Monday, August 29, before the APMT divestment.

The impact of the transaction has not yet reflected on Maersk’s and Global Ports’ stocks as the European stock markets are still closed.

With the divestment of its shares in GPI, APMT will no longer be involved in any entities operating in Russia or own any assets in the country.

Maersk is an integrated container logistics company working to connect and simplify its customers’ supply chains. As the global leader in shipping services, Maersk operates in 130 countries, employing around 95,000 people.

APM Terminals, part of A.P. Moller-Maersk, operates one of the world’s most comprehensive port networks 75 terminals exclusively or together with a joint venture partner. This equates to handling around 250 vessel calls per day and 12.8 million moves per year.

Global Ports Investments, a subsidiary of London-based GP Holdings, is the largest container terminal operator in Russia. It owns and operates 7 marine container and multipurpose terminals in two key marine container gateways.

Source: https://www.portcalls.com/maersk-quits-russia-via-gpi-stake-sale-to-delo/