P&O Nedlloyd

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P&O Nedlloyd Container Line Limited is a worldwide ocean-going container shipping line, headquartered in London and Rotterdam, and owned by A.P. Moller-Maersk Group (Maersk).

The company was formed by merging P&O Containers and Nedlloyd Lines, in December 1996 as a 50/50 joint venture of P&O and Royal Nedlloyd representing the liner shipping interests of the two companies. In April 2004 Royal Nedlloyd purchased the remainder of P&O's share to make it a wholly owned division of Royal Nedlloyd, and the company was listed on the Euronext Amsterdam as Royal P&O Nedlloyd NV. On its own, it was the third largest container transportation and shipping carrier in the world, with routes connecting all parts of the globe.

2003 Revenue $5.51 billion U.S. Dollars
2004 Revenue $6.71 billion U.S. Dollars

Expanding in 1998, the line purchased Blue Star's container business. The company also acquired the container business of Harrison Line (based in the UK). Further expansion came with the buyout of Farrell Lines (US-based) in 2000.

In May of 2005 Maersk announced plans to purchase P&O Nedlloyd for 2.3 billion euros. The combined company would be by far the largest shipping company in the world with about 18% of world market share. Maersk completed the buyout of the company on 13 August 2005, Royal P&O Nedlloyd shares terminated trading on 5 September. The new combined entity will be called "Mærsk Line" starting February 2006.

Its business is a worldwide port-to-port, or door-to-door, service using an extensive global network in the industry. P&O Nedlloyd has over 70 established trade lanes and provides connections to more than 250 main ports serving 120 countries worldwide. These elements, combined with well-developed feeder lines, extensive inland transport capabilities and port facilities, form the base of its business.

With a fleet of over 160 owned and chartered vessels, and a container fleet numbering some 635,000 owned and leased TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units (teu): 1 = a 20 ft container), P&O Nedlloyd is numerically speaking one of the largest companies in the industry.

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