COPENHAGEN: Danish shipping giant, AP Moeller-Maersk, said Wednesday it has agreed to acquire LF Logistics, a subsidiary of Chinese supply chain manager Li & Fung, for $3.6 billion as it seeks to expand beyond its core ocean freight business.

“Maersk is now taking another significant step to provide our customers with integrated logistics... shifting the balance significantly towards global logistics and integrated end-to-end services and solutions,” Maersk said in a statement.

The deal, which is to be finalised next year, “will allow us to offer truly global door-to-door supply chain solutions,” the statement said.

In November, the Danish group had already acquired German air freight company Senator International.

Maersk, which sold its oil division in 2017 to TotalEnergies, is seeking to refocus its business on transport and logistics.

LF Logistics employs 10,000 people and has 223 warehouses in 14 countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

With operations in 130 countries, Maersk employs around 80,000 people worldwide.

As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, demand for shipping has surged since mid-2020, in particular from Asia to the United States and Europe.

Additionally, many companies are still in the process of replenishing their stocks which had become sharply depleted during the first months of the Covid crisis.