A.P. Møller – Mærsk has revealed its plans to spin off Maersk Drilling, its offshore drilling business, as an independent company.
Image: Maersk Drilling to be demerged from A.P. Møller – Mærsk through a separate listing. Photo: courtesy of The Maersk Group.
The Danish business conglomerate said that it will pursue a separate listing of Maersk Drilling on Nasdaq Copenhagen next year.
A.P. Møller – Mærsk believes that a separate listing for the drilling rig operator presents the most optimal and long-term prospects for its stockholders, providing them the scope to take part in the value creation opportunity of an international pure play offshore drilling company with long-term development prospects, said the Danish integrated container logistics company.
The firm revealed that it has initiated a process to ensure that Maersk Drilling is operationally and organizationally ready for a separate listing in 2019. It has also secured $1.5bn of debt financing from a consortium of multi-national banks for Maersk Drilling to provide it with a solid capital structure after its listing as a standalone entity.
Furthermore, A.P. Møller – Mærsk disclosed that it is continuing to pursue a solution for Maersk Supply Service while adding that because of challenging markets, it cannot predict the timing for defining a solution for the offshore marine services business.
A.P. Moller – Maersk board of directors chairman Jim Hageman Snabe said: “The Maersk Drilling team has done a remarkable job operating the business at a time of high uncertainty and is well positioned to become a successful company on Nasdaq Copenhagen.
“The announcement of the intention to list Maersk Drilling completes the decision process on the structural solutions for the major oil and oil related businesses. Yet another important step in delivering on the strategy.”
The company expects to see about $5bn in net cash proceeds from the separation of Maersk Oil, Maersk Tankers and Maersk Drilling.
A.P. Moller – Maersk CEO Søren Skou said: “With the decision made on Maersk Drilling, A.P. Moller – Maersk can stay focused on transitioning into an integrated transport and logistics company and developing solutions to meet our customers end-to-end supply chain management needs.”
Last year, A.P. Moller – Maersk sold Maersk Oil to Total for $7.45bn and later on divested Maersk Tankers to APMH Invest for $1.17bn.