, Columnist
Maersk's Not-So-Total Break
At this price, though, who's complaining?
This article is for subscribers only.
It's hardly a seller's market for oil and gas assets. Yet Denmark's A.P. Moller–Maersk A/S seems to have achieved a decent deal in the $7.5 billion sale of its oil operations to France's Total SA.
The Copenhagen-listed shipping group said in September it was limiting investment in the oil business as it unveiled a new strategy to focus on shipping. That was an invitation for bidders to pitch for the assets. Meanwhile, the strategy was received warmly by investors. Maersk shares have since gained about 30 percent, outpacing their domestic benchmark index's gain of 7 percent.