Maersk Broker is continuing its search for a buyer after talks with Clarksons over a possible acquisition appear to have faltered.
As TradeWinds earlier reported, Clarksons entered into close discussion with Maersk Broker over a possible takeover with the market expecting an announcement shortly.
It now appears the two broking firms have been unable to reach a final agreement.
It is unclear why both parties are struggling to get the deal over the line.
The sale seemed to offer a suitable resolution to the Maersk family’s long-running efforts to offload the unit.
For Clarksons, it was an opportunity to take advantage of the Danish shipbroker’s strengths in container chartering and regional areas such as Japan.
One suggestion is that current consolidation moves in the shipbroking sector — and the relatively healthy future orderbooks of broking firms — are ramping up the price expectations for such deals following the Ifchor Galbraiths merger earlier this year.
Norway’s Fearnleys is also in discussion to acquire the UK’s Ocean Shipbrokers.
Clarksons paid around £281.2m ($362m) for RS Platou in 2015 and may be wary of making another big-ticket acquisition in an inflated market.
Clarksons is in robust financial health, having recently announced net profit before tax of £52.2m ($66.4m) for the first six months of 2023 — its best-ever result for the first half of the year.
Another view is that Maersk Broker employees objected to the buy because of possible areas of duplication with Clarksons’ business.
Both Clarksons and Maersk Broker have been approached for comment.
Question mark over suitable suitor
The failure of the talks with Clarksons puts a major question mark on whether Maersk Broker can find a suitor in the international shipbroking community.
It is understood to have been actively looking for a buyer for more than one year without any success, despite its position as one of the biggest names in broking and a strong appetite for consolidation in the sector.
The Maersk family is understood to be still seeking a buyer and is considering all its options with the Clarksons deal struggling to come to a conclusion.
“It is not a question of if something will happen with the ownership, but more like what and when,” commented a source close to the broking firms.
One possible solution could be to move the broking outfit to AP Moller Holding.
This happened recently with offshore oil and gas service company Maersk Supply Service, which was acquired from AP Moller-Maersk by AP Moller Holding in March this year.
The deal was part of a plan launched in 2016 to move energy-related services out of AP Moller-Maersk.
AP Moller Holding also took control of Maersk Tankers from AP Moller-Maersk in 2017 through its investment subsidiary APMH Invest.
AP Moller Holding is the parent company of the AP Moller Group, which is controlled by the AP Moller Foundation, an organisation chaired by the Maersk family.
Maersk Broker, which was established in 1914, is owned but no longer governed by the Maersk family. Kristian V Morch is chairman of the board, and the company is run by a management team of five headed by chief executive Anders Hald.
