Sea Views: P&O Nedlloyd becomes an independent company

P&O and Royal Nedlloyd NV wrapped up years of negotiations earlier this month with an agreement for Royal Nedlloyd to purchase P&O's 50 per cent stake in P&O Nedlloyd (PONL).

The resulting, independently-listed, new company is to be named Royal P&O Nedlloyd NV and it will be quarter-owned for a minimum of six months by P&O, which also received approximately $268.7 million in cash for the deal that enables P&O to shift the focus of its operations to a rapidly growing international ports business, with over half of its investment already in the Asian region.

The total value of the transaction is estimated at approximately $604.6 million, based on the share price of Royal Nedlloyd NV at the close of trading on January 30.

In the likely event that the deal will receive approval from the shareholders of both the original companies, P&O said it intends to use the cash consideration to reduce group net debt and its share of debt in joint ventures.

Lord Sterling, chairman of P&O, said: "This transaction achieves P&O's key strategic objective and is good news for our stockholders. It is also good news for P&O Nedlloyd which will be able to use its new independence to reinforce its position as one of the world's leading container shipping companies."

The new company will have its base in Rotterdam while its container shipping operations will be in carried out from London.

Philip Green, CEO designate of Royal P&O Nedlloyd, said: "The new Royal P&O Nedlloyd structure will be an ideal platform to build on the considerable achievements of the last few years and will provide flexibility and independence for management to focus on moving the company forward efficiently."

P&O's preliminary results for fiscal year 2003 are due to be announced on March 4.

Business booms at GL

German Classification Society Germanischer Lloyd (GL) has recorded its highest ever monthly intake of tonnage during January, with 45 newbuildings amounting to 1.4 million GT. The new additions consist mainly of container carriers, ranging from 1,200 TEU to 8,100 TEU, plus a number of multi-purpose cargo vessels and other ship types.

After exceptional growth last year, the society's order level reached a total of 11.7 million GT at the end of January, as opposed to 7.5 million GT for the previous year.

By the end of last year, GL boasted a market share of 11.6 per cent, or 5,073 units (reckoned by the number of ships over 100 GT under attendance) and has advanced by one place to number 4 in the ranking of the ten major classification societies.

This surge in business has been reflected by an increase in GL personnel from 1,962 at the end of 2002 to 2,148 by the end of last year. Of the 186 new staff members, 104 are based in Hamburg.

GAC sets challenging global goals for 2004

Gulf Agency Co. (GAC) has set itself a testing time-table for the coming year as it seeks to complete its global network of ship agency alliances.

The Group's newest alliance partner is the Ultramar Group which, since February 1, provides ship agency services in ports in Argentina, Chile, Peru and Uruguay.

During the past 12 months, GAC signed Global Network Alliance agreements with Adsteam (Australia, New Zealand and Oceania), Unipros (Republic of Korea), Kudrat Maritime (Malaysia), RUR (USA East and Gulf Coasts) and Wilford & McKay (Panama).

Lars P. Heisselberg, group vice-president, commented: "We had considerable success in 2003 finding the right partners to extend our global reach. In the coming year we aim to complete our coverage of the Americas and Japan followed by Africa and Europe." "GAC, by itself, provides comprehensive port coverage in the Middle East, the Indian Subcontinent, Asia, Africa and key locations in the US, Europe, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea."

– Frank Kennedy is a Dubai-based marine consultant