Maersk's Odense puts Estonian shipyard up for sale
Danish shipping and oil conglomerate A.P. Moller-Maersk on Monday said its Lindo Odense Steel Shipyard has put its Estonian unit Loksa Shipyard up for sale.
Loksa, with about 700 employees, became part of Lindo in 1994 and is one of the world's leading manufacturers of hatch covers, Maersk said in a statement.
"The ownership of Loksa ... will not be necessary for the expected future production at Lindo and a sale will give Lindo the opportunity to focus fully on shipbuilding and enhancing productivity," Maersk said in a statement.
Maersk said it would continue to develop its other subsidiary, Baltija Shipbuilding, in Lithuania.
The group said it had hired Danske Markets as its adviser in the sale.
It a Loksa sale would not have any consequences for the shipbuilding programme at Lindo, but would not divulge any financial details of the expected sale.
"We've chosen to go public with this very early in the process. The alternative would have started a bunch of rumours," Lindo chief Finn Nielsen told Reuters, adding that production at Loksa was no longer as competitive as it was in 1994.
"We are very dependent on the business cycle around us and of foreign exchange rates. If they move the other way we will take our bearings again. At the moment, we are focussing on a higher degree of specialisation," he said.
Nielsen expects the sales process to take about six months.
Loksa, with about 700 employees, became part of Lindo in 1994 and is one of the world's leading manufacturers of hatch covers, Maersk said in a statement.
"The ownership of Loksa ... will not be necessary for the expected future production at Lindo and a sale will give Lindo the opportunity to focus fully on shipbuilding and enhancing productivity," Maersk said in a statement.
Maersk said it would continue to develop its other subsidiary, Baltija Shipbuilding, in Lithuania.
The group said it had hired Danske Markets as its adviser in the sale.
It a Loksa sale would not have any consequences for the shipbuilding programme at Lindo, but would not divulge any financial details of the expected sale.
"We've chosen to go public with this very early in the process. The alternative would have started a bunch of rumours," Lindo chief Finn Nielsen told Reuters, adding that production at Loksa was no longer as competitive as it was in 1994.
"We are very dependent on the business cycle around us and of foreign exchange rates. If they move the other way we will take our bearings again. At the moment, we are focussing on a higher degree of specialisation," he said.
Nielsen expects the sales process to take about six months.