Supply Chain Research

Maersk has announced a purchase price for its acquisition of Hamburg Sud of 3.7 billion euros ($4.0 billion) on an enterprise value basis. That’s equivalent to 66% of Hamburg Sud’s 2016 revenues and compares to Maersk’s current ratio of 126%. That may be explained by its oil business. A basket of the other quoted container-liners trades at 83%, while only K-Line and NYK trade on lower levels than Hamburg Sud’s. Deal risks should be relatively low, and more financial details – Hamburg Sud’s ratio may reflect low profitability – may emerge with Maersk’s results on May 11.