French container shipping company CMA CGM has confirmed its intention to acquire Singapore-based global container shipping firm Neptune Orient Lines (NOL) in an all-cash voluntary conditional general offer for all outstanding shares.
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CMA CGM has priced each NOL share at S$1.30 in cash which represents a 49% premium to NOL’s unaffected share price with CMA CGM specifying that the price will remain fixed. The total amount to be invested by CMA CGM will be S$3.4bn ($2.4bn).
The announcement comes after the potential transaction secured the regulatory approvals from Anti-monopoly Bureau of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) and the European Commission.
The granting of approval depended upon NOL exiting the G6 alliance.
Maybank Kim Eng Securities has been appointed to serve as an independent financial adviser for NOL.
Last December, NOL’s majority shareholders, Temasek and its affiliates, agreed to tender all of their shares in acceptance of the offer.
Established in 1978, CMA CGM has a current portfolio of 471 vessels. It operates in 160 countries and employs more than 22,000 people worldwide, including 2,400 at its headquarters in Marseille, France.
Headquarted in Singapore, NOL has a fleet of 88 vessels, serving in more than 50 countries and employ over 7000 employees.
The transaction is expected to widen the business scopes of CMA CGM as it extends its geographical limits and is expected to a generate revenues of $21bn.
