Maersk to Sell Esvagt for $610m

A.P. Moller-Maersk announced it will be selling its stake in Danish shipping company ESVAGT, an offshore support company involved in emergency response and rescue, oil spill response and escort services, to 3i Investments and AMP Capital. The sale will be valued at DKK 4.1 billion ($610 million). Moller-Maersk owns 75% and ESE Holding has the remaining 25%. ESVAGT operates 43 vessels and works primarily in and around the North Sea and the Barents Sea.

Maersk Group CFO and Chairman in ESVAGT, Trond Westlie commented, ”ESVAGT is a sound, well-run company with an exceptional operational excellence, and we have assessed how we best serve ESVAGT’s long-term interest, as they are not part of the Maersk Group’s core business. The sale to 3i Infrastructure plc and AMP Capital has proven to be the best way of ensuring that ESVAGT can continue its development based on a strong culture and heritage, while at the same time creating value for the shareholders,”

Since 2010, Esvagt has been servicing the Bligh Bank Offshore Wind Farm for Danish wind turbine maker Vestas. This year, it has put two specially built service operation vessels for offshore wind turbine farms into operation for Siemens Wind Power.

A.P. Moller-Maersk has offloaded a string of companies and stakes in subsidiaries in recent years to focus on container shipping, oil, port operations and drilling. It has booked more than $11 billion from divestments since 2009.