Maersk fined millions for failing to notify merger
Transport giant A.P. Møller-Mærsk has received a serious reproach for having forgotten to notify the Danish competition authorities in connection with a merger.
The Maritime and Commercial Court has fined the company a total of 10 million kroner in the case, which dates back to 2022.
Here, Maersk's American subsidiary, Damco USA, bought competitor Pilot Air Freight Holdings.
The two companies were merged in this connection without the competition authorities being informed of this, and this is in violation of the rules.
- Larger mergers must be notified to and approved by the competition authority to ensure that they do not significantly hinder competition.
- Merger control can only function effectively if companies ensure that they notify mergers in a timely manner and do not merge before they have received the competition authority's approval, says Deputy Director Tine Rønde from the Danish Competition and Consumer Authority.
The fine could have been higher, but Maersk gets off cheaper because the shipping company itself made the authorities aware of the error and cooperated while the case was being processed.
The merger was also reported to the American competition authorities, but the combined turnover of the two companies meant that the Danish competition authorities should also have been involved.
The merger was subsequently also approved in Denmark because the Danish Competition and Consumer Authority assessed that it did not hinder competition more than is acceptable.
/ritzau/
