When AP Moller-Maersk gets moving, the world pays attention. So it was this week when, just days after lacklustre interim results, it unveiled an agreement to sell its Maersk Oil subsidiary to Total for $7.45bn in shares and debt.

The Danish giant won plaudits for delivering the first — and biggest — element in its stated disposal of its energy division to focus on transport and logistics through its liner, terminals and freight forwarding operations.

Not only does the deal begin to unlock the conglomerate discount at which its shares have traded, it brings confidence that management under chief executive Soren Skou are able to deliver a sustainable turnaround after an "annus horribilus" of losses and cyber-attacks.

As work goes on within Maersk’s world-leading liner division to integrate its $4bn acquisition of Germany’s Hamburg Sud, other markets are alert to the planned further disposals of the energy division’s remaining three units: Maersk Drilling, Maersk Supply Service and Maersk Tankers.

Maersk Drilling, valued at around $4.7bn, will be a challenging sale, as will Maersk Supply Service, valued at about $1.3bn, due to the deeply troubled markets in which they operate.

Perhaps of greater interest will be the fate of Maersk Tankers, the group’s last remaining tanker operation with 81 owned products tankers in four sectors, nine newbuildings, and options for 10 more.

Nothing has been said in detail about Maersk Tankers’ sale plans. However, it is pushing on with its agenda to innovate both tonnage and operations in order to delivery maximum efficiency.

In addition to its owned vessels, it operates a further 24 chartered tankers and has 55 under commercial management, giving it a 160-vessel platform that should offer significant benefits over a smaller fleet.

This week, Maersk Tankers chief executive Christian Ingerslev revealed an investment in ground-breaking shipping data and hedge fund CargoMetrics to accelerate its digital drive.

More tangibly, it also took a $464m write-down — equivalent to about 25% — of the value of its vessels on its balance sheet due to continued weak ship prices. Its book value is now around $1.1bn.

Some analysts have suggested the sale of the tanker operation — for perhaps around $1.3bn — may be slowed by the weak products tanker market, and certainly there are few who are expecting any deal to be unveiled in days or weeks.

the deal with Total shows that even in market conditions not conducive to deal-making, with the right structure a willing buyer can still be found

However, the deal with Total shows that even in market conditions not conducive to deal-making, with the right structure a willing buyer can still be found. Key to the structure of the oil deal is Total’s payment of $4.95bn of the purchase price with its own shares. This gives AP Moller-Maersk both an asset to distribute to its own shareholders and the potential of a share in the upside that the deal may bring to Total.

It has resonance in shipping since transactions involving payment of a significant slice of the price in equity has been key to some of the most significant deals made so far this year.

In the spring, John Fredriksen’s Golden Ocean paid $364m in shares to buy Quintana Shipping and its 14-strong fleet of bulkers. Soon after, BW Group sold its VLCC fleet to DHT Holdings in return for a near one-third equity stake in the company.

Just weeks later, Scorpio Tankers snapped up Navig8 Product Tankers and its fleet of 27 vessels for around $1.14bn, including $200m in equity.

A sale for cash and equity would be ideal for Maersk Tankers. For the buyer, it would mean there is no necessity to find a large source of cash, and justify a takeover premium while rates are low.

For the seller — AP Moller-Maersk — it could accept a less-than-stellar price, in exchange for equity that may offer a reasonable stake in any upside. In recent years, the group sold its VLCC, LPG and LNG assets while those markets were low, and with no stake in subsequent value appreciation.

Of course, taking a bet on equity appreciation in shipping markets is even more hazardous than in the oil-and-gas sector. Yet it appears likely to work Maersk Oil and for other acquisitive shipowners, so it could work for Maersk Tankers.

AP Moller-Maersk appears to have prepared the ground well. It has a clear strategy, has cleaned up Maersk Tankers’ balance sheet, and has shown the market it is ready to execute quickly.

The only questions that remain are who will do the deal? And when?