The price of Neptune Orient Lines (NOL) shares remained unmoved in the first hour of trading today as they returned to trading on the Singapore Exchange, having been halted yesterday as CMA CGM announced a $2.4bn takeover offer at a price of S$1.30 ($0.93) per share.
At 10am the shares remained at S$1.225, the same price they were when they were halted from trading yesterday prior to the announcement.
Investors cite the possibility that the deal may not receive the necessary approvals as one reason the share price has not rocketed up to a price close to CMA CGM’s offer price. Another major concern is that the container market could continue to get worse leading to a loss of support from the banks behind CMA CGM’s funding for the deal.
The deal has been accepted by NOL’s majority shareholders Temasek, with the new combined entity boasting a capacity of 2,399 thousand teus and combined fleet of 563 vessels, a market share of around 11.5% and a turnover of close to $22bn.
