Maersk strikes deal to buy LF Logistics for $3.6 Bln

AP Moeller-Maersk AS said Wednesday it has agreed to buy LF Logistics Holdings Ltd. in an all-cash deal.

The Danish shipping company said it would acquire 100% of the private, Asia-Pacific-based logistics company for an enterprise value of $3.6 billion.

An earn-out of up to $160 million linked to future financial performance has been agreed upon as part of the deal, Maersk said.

The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that Maersk was nearing a deal to buy LF Logistics for about $3 billion.

The deal is expected to close in 2022 and unlock substantial synergies, Maersk said Wednesday.

On Monday, French conglomerate Bollore SE said it had received a $6.4 billion offer from Geneva-based Mediterranean Shipping Co. to buy its African logistics assets. If the deal goes through, it will give MSC, the world's second-biggest container ship operator, control of 16 terminals in Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria and Gabon along with three rail concessions.

This comes amid investments by a slew of boxship operators in terminals, new ships and other assets following a bumper profit year when most operators made four times as much as they did in 2020, on the back of high demand for manufactured goods during the pandemic.