Maersk Inc. said it has entered an agreement to sell its Direct ChassisLink (DCLI) business to Littlejohn & Co., a Connecticut-based private investment firm.
The deal is expected to be completed in March, subject to regulatory approvals and satisfaction of customary closing conditions, Maersk said.
A sale price was not announced, but the company said the deal should not have any impact on the 2012 financial results of the A.P. Moller-Maersk Group.
DCLI rents and leases chassis to drayage companies and liner carriers in the United States. The company owns or leases about 66,000 chassis through a network of 129 locations located on or near key ports and other intermodal hubs throughout the country.
“We have been pleased with the business levels, the profitability and the quality of management at DCLI,” said J. Russell Bruner, chairman and chief executive officer of Maersk Inc., in a statement. “It is, however, a provider of chassis, and it does not fit in our long-term strategic focus.
“The sale will allow the Group to reallocate resources to the strategic focus areas within shipping, energy and related activities,” he added. Maersk spun off its chassis business in 2009 and created DCLI, which leases equipment to trucking companies.
Large numbers of other shipping companies have begun to follow Maersk’s lead, and are exiting the chassis business. Many now charge truckers for chassis to move containers from marine terminals to shippers or consignees, at least for port-to-port moves. However, many shipping companies still provide and pay for chassis if shippers have paid for through-intermodal moves to warehouses and factories.
Littlejohn Managing Director Edmund J. Feeley said “as an independent company, we look forward to supporting DCLI’s management team to grow the business organically and target strategic acquisitions that will further expand its national network.”
Maersk sells chassis business
