Norway’s Wilhelmsen has abandoned its $400m acquisition of US firm Drew Marine Technical Solutions after a District of Columbia court granted a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) motion for an injunction to block the deal.
Wilhelmsen and Drew have agreed to abandon the transaction, initiated in April 2017, and settled on a termination fee of $20m.
Thomas Wilhelmsen, group CEO of Wilhelmsen, commented: “We disagree with the views of the US competition authorities. This would have been an important strategic investment for our group, which we believe would have meant better services and better prices for our customer. We are therefore disappointed that we will not be able to bring the deal to a close.”
FTC moved to block the deal in February, saying it would reduce competition in the market for marine water treatment chemicals.
