A.P. Møller Holding, the parent company of Maersk, and leading global investment firm KKR announced on July 2 that a subsidiary of A.P. Møller Holding will acquire 100% of the equity in Ocean Yield, a world-leading ship leasing platform, from funds managed by KKR.

Headquartered in Oslo, Norway, Ocean Yield holds interests in a fleet of over 70 modern vessels across multiple core shipping segments, including gas carriers, containerships, LNG carriers, crude oil tankers, product tankers, chemical tankers, and dry bulk carriers. During KKR's ownership, Ocean Yield invested more than US$3 billion to further expand its existing fleet portfolio, diversify and broaden its investment-grade customer base, while its long-term contract backlog nearly doubled to exceed US$5 billion.

The acquisition of Ocean Yield will further strengthen A.P. Møller Holding's maritime business portfolio and reinforce the group's long-standing maritime heritage across multiple shipping segments.

Martin Larsen, Chief Financial Officer of A.P. Møller Holding, stated: "We see Ocean Yield's business model—specifically its stable cash flows—as an excellent complement to our existing maritime investments."

Andreas Røde, Chief Executive Officer of Ocean Yield, commented: "In a private ownership setting, we can make decisions and position the business with a longer-term perspective, collaborating with leading shipping companies and end-users to provide critical infrastructure assets to the industry."

Robert Uggla, CEO of A.P. Møller Holding.

During KKR's ownership, Ocean Yield's presence in the LNG sector continued to grow. The company further expanded in this segment last year through a co-investment with KKR in CapeOmega, which holds interests in ten LNG carriers operated by Knutsen LNG under charters with Shell, Engie, and QatarEnergy, respectively. Going forward, KKR will continue as a strategic partner to Ocean Yield through its CapeOmega Gas Transportation investment.

For A.P. Møller Holding, this acquisition forms part of the group's broader expansion of its maritime interests. The group acquired Maersk Supply Service in 2023, and Maersk Tankers completed the acquisition of Penfield Marine in early 2024. A.P. Møller Holding also acquired all shares of tug operator Svitzer through a voluntary tender offer last year and took the company private.