P&O vaihtamassa omistajaa?

[Timo Selkälä]

Taas yksi "pienehkö" lautta varustamo vaihtamassa omistajaa? Yahoolta. Käisttääkseni tarjous koskee koko konsernia.

RMT seeks urgent meeting with P&O over buy-out bid - 31 Oct 2005

OCTOBER 31: MARITIME UNION RMT is seeking an urgent meeting with P&O following reports that a £3 billion buy-out bid has been made for the business.


"Our first concern is for the future of our members' jobs and I am seeking an urgent meeting with P&O to find out what the company's intentions are," RMT general secretary said today.

"If the company does change hands we will be seeking reassurances that the deal will not become an asset-stripping exercise and that our members will not pay for the buyout with their jobs, pay and conditions."

[Kalle Id]

MaritimeMatters.com uutisoi samasta asiasta seuraavaa:

P&O Take Over Rumours See Stock Soar
October 31: The press is buzzing with the news that P&O has been contacted by Dubai Ports World, the state-owned port operator in Dubai, interested in buying all or part of the British ports and ferries group in what could be a US$5.3 billion deal. Shares in Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co. surged 30 percent today on the news. DPW and P&O made no comment. P&O has seen a drop in passenger numbers on ferries in competition from low-cost airlines. P&O has reduced its number of ships from 31 to 23, in recent years and sold its 25 percent stake in P&O Nedlloyd. P&O also owns 27 container terminals around the world. (P&O should not to be confused with P&O Cruises, owned by Carnival Corporation).

[Miran Hamidulla]

Ostajaksihan on huhuttu paitsi tuota satamafirmaa Dubaista myös Maerskiä. Kummankin kiinnostuksen pääkohde tosin tuntuu olevan enemmänkin P&O:n satamatoiminnot, vaikka lautatkin ilmeisesti kauppaan sisältyisivät. Maerskin tosin voisi kuvitella olevan kiinnostunut ostamaan samalla myös P&O:n lautat täydentämään heidän omaa Norfolklineään.

[Timo Selkälä]

Vaikuttaisi siltä että P&O on pilkottavana. Ehkä, siis ehkä, myös lauttapuoli on myytävänä yhtenä yksikkönä?

http://www.seanews.ru/default.asp?l=e&a=l&v=d&g=1&i=20667&n=1
Kertoi seuraavaa.
Sale of P&O


P&O announces that it has today agreed to sell its cold logistics business to Versacold Holdings Corp. of Canada for $323.7 mn.

The consideration is approximately equal to the book value of the net assets being sold. The sale proceeds comprise approximately ?149 million in cash and ?34 million in the form of convertible debentures. The cash proceeds will be used to reduce Group net debt and are due to be received on completion which is anticipated to be in December 2005.

P&O Cold Logistics is estimated to be the third largest cold storage and distribution operator in the world (measured by capacity of refrigerated space). It has over 3,000 employees located across approximately 50 sites in the US, Australia, New Zealand and Argentina. The business provides specialised skills, systems and equipment for temperature controlled logistics for customers in the food industry.
SeaNews, 02.11.2005

[Miran Hamidulla]

Mielestäni tuo kylmälogistiikka on ollut myynnissä jo pitkään ennen tätä viimeistä käännettä.

Maerskin aikeita ostaa P&O saattaa haitata se, että sen omistama Norfolkline on samaan aikaan hamuamassa itselleen Irlanninmerellä toimivan NorseMerchant Ferriesin ostoa, ja sen reitistö puolestaan menee osittain päällekkäin P&O:n Irlanninmeren linjojen kanssa. Kilpailuvirasto ei varmasti ole asiasta hyvillään. Varsinkin, kun alueen toisen jätin, Stenan taannoiset aikeet ostaa P&O:n Dublin-Liverpool reitti vesittyivät juuri kilpailuviranomaisten vuoksi.

[Timo Selkälä]

Yahoolta:

DP World has 'no plans' to sell P&O ferries
By Robert Wright in London Financial Times
Published: November 2 2005 02:00 | Last updated: November 2 2005 02:00

DP World plans to keep P&O's ferries business for some time after any acquisition, the FT has learned.

The news will scotch speculation that the port operator - owned by the Dubai Ports, Customs and Free Zone Authority - will seek to offload the business as part of any purchase.

DP World at present is only a port operator, operating the major hub port of Dubai and a number of container terminals worldwide. P&O's ferries - which operate in the North Sea, English Channel and Irish Sea - would be its first venture into operating ships.

A person familiar with DP World said the company intended to bid for the whole of P&O, not just the prime container ports business.

As well as the ferries, P&O has a property portfolio that is being sold and a cold logistics business, transporting refrigerated goods in North America and Australia.

P&O declined to comment on DP World's intentions. The company has yet to confirm that the preliminary approach it has received came from DP World.

P&O's shares rose sharply on Monday after a Sunday newspaper story said the company had received an approach from DP World, which was likely to pay £3bn ($5.2bn) for the company.

The ferries business has been seen as a potential headache for any purchaser. While the container ports produced operating profits of £154m on £1.02bn turnover last year, the ferries lost £15.4m on £984m turnover.

P&O said that a review of the ferries business last year had produced a turnround at the division, which was now focused on the profitable truck market rather than tourists. Some unprofitable routes and ships had been withdrawn.

In a third quarter trading statement last week, P&O said the ferries were on course to make operating profits of £10m this year, in spite of higher fuel prices and problems at Calais, where faulty dock equipment restricted sailings
for several weeks. The profit will be the division's first since 2002. P&O's shares rose 13½p yesterday to 418½p.