A.P. Møller – Mærsk A/S will be dividing itself in two. A Transport & Logistics division will be separated from Maersk Oil.

A.P. Møller – Mærsk will continue as an integrated transportation and logistics company. Oil and oil related businesses will be the province of Maersk Oil, which will focus on optimizing and strengthening its position in the North Sea.

The reorganization is the culmination of a process started in June 23, when the company’s board instructed management to perform a review focusing on the strategic and structural options for the Maersk Group with the objective of generating growth, increasing agility and synergies, and maximizing shareholder value.

The main growth focus of A.P. Møller – Mærsk going forward will be delivering transportation and logistics services as an integrated transportation and logistics company. It plans on leveraging its leading positions in container transportation, port operations, supply chain management, and freight forwarding to introduce new product offerings, digital services, and individualized customer solutions.

The board expects that the oil and oil related businesses will require different solutions for future development in the form of joint-ventures, mergers, or listing. Depending on market development and structural opportunities, the objective is to find solutions for the oil and oil related businesses within 24 months.

“The industries in which we are operating are very different, and both face very different underlying fundamentals and competitive environments,” said Michael Pram Rasmussen, Maersk’s chairman of the board. “Separating our transport and logistics businesses and our oil and oil related businesses into two independent divisions will enable both to focus on their respective markets. This will increase the strategic flexibility by enhancing synergies between businesses in transportation and logistics while ensuring the agility to pursue individual strategic solutions for the oil and oil related businesses.”

Transport & Logistics will consist of Maersk Line, APM Terminals, Damco, Svitzer, and Maersk Container Industry based on a one company structure with multiple brands. The mission of these businesses is to enable and facilitate global supply chains and provide opportunities for our customers to trade globally.

The company is planning to grow Maersk Line organically and through acquisitions, a departure from its earlier strategy which did not emphasize acquisitions. The implications of this change are that the carrier will not be ordering new vessels for a market already saturated with capacity.

The energy division will consist of Maersk Oil, Maersk Drilling, Maersk Supply Service and Maersk Tankers. Maersk Oil will adjust its current strategy to focus on fewer geographies and to gain scale in the North Sea.