A P Moller seals Sea-Land deal

A P Moller Group and CSX Corporation have announced that they have reached a much anticipated agreement for A P Moller-Maersk Line to acquire Sea-Land Service Inc’s international liner business, a deal which includes vessels, containers, related container terminals, and certain lease obligations from CSX. The agreed purchase price is $800 million.

Sea-Land operates approximately 70 container vessels and about 200,000 containers in its international trades. The long-awaited agreement is a natural development of the close partnership the companies have enjoyed for some time.

Domestic container shipping to and from Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Guam, as well as certain terminal facilities (including facilities in Hong Kong) are not part of the agreement, and will remain under CSX ownership.

The acquisition is subject to due diligence and approvals from authorities, and is expected to have been completed by mid-November. The combined services will be marketed under the name of Maersk-SeaLand.