Maersk agrees $3.6 bln deal to buy Hong Kong-based LF Logistics

Shipping containers are transported on a Maersk Line vessel through the Suez Canal in Ismailia, Egypt July 7, 2021. Picture taken July 7, 2021. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh/File Photo

COPENHAGEN, Dec 22 (Reuters) – Container shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk (MAERSKb.CO) has agreed to buy Hong Kong-based LF Logistics for $3.6 billion in an all-cash deal, it said on Wednesday, as it seeks to expand beyond its core ocean freight business.

The deal is one of the group’s largest takeovers to date and follows a series of acquisitions including e-commerce firms, a freight forwarder specialised in air freight and its smaller rival Hamburg Sud.

“The acquisition will further strengthen Maersk’s capabilities as an integrated container logistics company, offering global end-to-end supply chain solutions to its customers,” the company said in a statement.

Maersk will buy LF Logistics from controlling shareholder Li & Fung Ltd , a Hong Kong-based supply chain manager, and from Singapore state investor Temasek (TEM.UL) which bought 22% of the company in 2019.

LF Logistics provides land-based logistic services such as warehousing and trucking across Asia to over 250 global customers.

The deal is expected to close in 2022, Maersk said.

Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen and Stine Jacobsen; Editing by Jacqueline Wong

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