P&O Nedlloyd turned down takeover offer
Royal Nedlloyd N.V., which owns 50 percent P&O Nedlloyd, said it has turned down a preliminary approach by an unnamed company to acquire the container shipping company.
Leon Albers, investor relations' executive at Nedlloyd, said the approach was rejected “because it was not in the interest of shareholders.”
Albers would neither confirm nor deny that the company that sought a takeover of P&O Nedlloyd was Neptune Orient Lines.
Last month, Nedlloyd and Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co. — the other 50-percent shareholder in P&O Nedlloyd — announced a buyout plan that would result in the container-shipping joint venture becoming a public company listed on the Amsterdam stock exchange. Nedlloyd and P&O aim to complete the buyout in April or May. The transaction is subject to the approval of shareholders and to other conditions.