CSX, A.P. MOLLER ARGUE OVER $60 MILLION POST-TAKEOVER SETTLEMENT
CSX Corp., the former parent company of Sea-Land Service, is involved in a dispute with the A.P. Moller/Maersk group over a final settlement for the sale of Sea-Land's international shipping business in 1999.
CSX said its agreement with Maersk provided for a “post-closing adjustment” to the sales price, based on the change in working capital between June 25, 1999, and Dec. 10, 1999, when the takeover was concluded.
CSX said it expects to receive about $60 million in connection with the post-closing adjustment, but this amount is in dispute.
“The matter has been submitted to arbitration,” a spokesman for CSX said. “Management is not yet in a position to assess fully the likely outcome of this process, but believes it will prevail in the arbitration.”
CSX said it sold Sea-Land’s international business below book value and recorded a loss of $401 million on the sale. By contrast, CSX recorded a pre-tax gain of $570 million last year on the sale of CTI Logistix Inc. to the TNT group, it said.