A.P. Møller – Mærsk to seek separate listing for Maersk Drilling

AUGUST 17, 2018 — A.P. Møller – Mærsk A/S has decided to spin off Maersk Drilling Holding A/S as a standalone company in 2019 with a separate listing on Nasdaq Copenhagen A/S.

After evaluating the different options for Maersk Drilling, A.P. Moller – Maersk has concluded that listing Maersk Drilling as a standalone company presents the most optimal and long-term prospects for its shareholders.

As part of the preparation for Maersk Drilling’s 2019 listing, debt financing of $1.5 billion for the company has been secured from a consortium of international banks.

Separation of the oil & oil related businesses

The decision on the future of Maersk Drilling marks a milestone in A.P. Moller – Maersk plans to become an integrated transport & logistics company announced in September 2016, when a 24 month target was set to find new viable solutions for the group’s oil and oil related businesses within 24 months. During the past two years solutions for Maersk Oil and Maersk Tankers saw Maersk Oil sold to Total and Maersk Tankers sold to AP Møller Holding, the investment firm of the AP Møller Fund, which ultimately owns most of AP Møller – Mærsk. The group is still looking to come up with a solution for Maersk Supply Service, but says that, due to challenging markets, the timing for defining a solution is difficult to predict.

“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,” says A.P. Moller – Maersk CEO Søren Skou. “New value adding services as well as customer experience are improving continuously based on digital solutions. We will continue to grow revenue with a specific focus on non-ocean revenue and at the same time improve our current unsatisfactory level of profitability.”