Maersk, Danske and Nordea to shed Ship Finance Stakes

A.P. Moller-Maersk , Danske Bank and Nordea Bank will sell their shareholdings in shipping lender Danish Ship Finance worth 4.25 billion Danish crowns ($638.05 million) to a consortium of Danish investment funds, the company said Wednesday.

The company, which distributes loans to shipping companies based on vessel mortgages, will be taken over by Danish pension funds PFA, PKA as well as Nordic equity fund Axcel.

The deal values the company at 4.72 billion crowns, the company said.

The divestment comes less than a week after shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk said it would split into two units and focus on its container shipping business.

Based on a decision reached in June 2015, the Danish Ship Finance's board said it had decided to change ownership in a bid to increase liquidity in company shares.

Reporting by Nikolaj Skydsgaard and Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen