IN a lightning deal the Danish A.P. Moller Group/Maersk Line has agreed to take over the liner activities of Denmark's East Asiatic Co (EAC).
With EAC deciding to give up its shipping activities, the A.P. Moller Group will take over the liner service between Europe and the Far East, the regional line trades in the Far East and Australia, chartered liner vessels and EAC's owned and leased containers.
Terms and conditions of the final agreement are expected to be reached shortly before the takeover is effected.
According to an EAC statement, details on price could not be released, but the agreement would result in a very considerable strengthening of EAC's cash position as compared with the investment visualised in the EAC-American President Lines (APL) relationship which collapsed through last week.
The A.P. Moller Group came into the picture soon after APL last week announced its intention to pull out of a proposed joint venture with EAC to run the container service between Asia and Europe.
Following news of the APL-EAC joint venture fall out, there was considerable speculation that financially troubled EAC could not continue its Far East-Europe service due to its inability to finance newbuildings to replace its ageing and inadequate fleet.
EAC said the agreement with A.P. Moller was an important step towards fulfilling EAC's financial goals and presented better possibilities for EAC to channel further capital to its main core business areas of graphics equipment, food products, infant nutrition products and marketing services.
