Samskip to Acquire Nor Lines

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Wednesday July 26, 2017

Samskip Tuesday announced that it is set to acquire activities associated with Nor Lines AS (Nor Lines) through an agreement with DSD Group.

"We are pleased to complete our divestment of Nor Lines and entrust the business to Samskip, in a strategic solution for a specialised business that needs to be part of a larger structure to develop and thrive," said Ingvald Løyning, CEO of DSD.

"We believe that Samskip will be a good home for Nor Lines, and a good solution for our employees and customers."

Specifically, the transaction includes terminal activities in Norway, warehousing, and haulage services, as well as the transfer of five out of seven multi-purpose vessels to Samskip under a time charter arrangement.

Samskip notes that activities will continue operate under the Nor Lines brand name following the acquisition.

"The Nor Lines takeover represents a major opportunity for Samskip," said Ásbjörn Gíslason, CEO of Samskip Logistics.

"It is a natural but significant extension of our shipping and logistics activities in Norway which will further broaden our customer offerings. 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."

Samskip, which currently transports around 90,000 TEU annually between Norway and Northern Europe, aims to further increase this volume through the Nor Lines acquisition.

In May, Ship & Bunker reported that Rolls-Royce plc (Rolls-Royce) had signed a service agreement with Nor Lines, set to use "Big Data" to monitor, plan, and perform maintenance and repairs on Nor Lines' liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered cargo vessels, Kvitbjørn and Kvitnos.