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Samskip inks takeover deal for Nor Lines

Samskip inks takeover deal for Nor Lines
Samskip has reached an agreement with the DSD Group to acquire Nor Lines, with the acquisition deal including terminal and logistics buinesses and chartering-in of five multipurpose vessels.

Samskip will acquire Nor Lines’ nationwide terminal activities in Norway, warehousing and haulage services, and take over the time-charter arrangement for five out of seven multipurpose vessels, allowing DSD to retain ownership of the vessels.

The acquisition deal will also bring in 170 employees based in 14 locations across Norway. Samskip said activities will continue to operate under the Nor Lines brand post-acquisition.

The deal is subject to approval by the Norwegian competition authorities.

“It is a natural but significant extension of our shipping and logistics activities in Norway which will further broaden our customer offerings,” said Asbjorn Gislason, ceo of Samskip Logistics.

“Nor Lines’ financial performance has been disappointing in recent years, but we are confident that by combining our respective strengths and refocusing the business we will create synergies, improve efficiency and provide customers with enhanced services,” he said.

The activities of Nor Lines generated an average annual turnover of EUR110m ($128m).

At present, Samskip transports around 90,000 teu a year between Norway and Northern Europe. Samskip believes that the combined annual turnover after the Nor Lines takeover will make it a major player in the market.

Meanwhile, Samskip said it has added two 2015-built LNG vessels, Kvitnos and Kvitbjorn, to is fleet as part of a move to reduce harmful emissions and reap greater energy efficiency compared to a ship running on conventional bunker fuel.