There is little prospect of a bidding war for Neptune Orient Lines between prospective suitors Maersk Line and CMA CGM as the risks involved in acquiring a loss-making line in a weak market will lean heavily on the sale price, Drewry believes.
However, price will be the sticking point, Drewry said in its Container Insight Weekly, and while no figure has been provided officially, the analyst said NOL has an enterprise value close to $4.3 billion with debt of around $2.9 billion, down from $5.3 billion at the end of last year following the sale of APL Logistics. … An analysis by Drewry Maritime Equity Research shows that the Maersk Group has a definitive edge over CMA CGM purely on the basis of financing the deal.