Freightliner bidder out
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• The saga ot British Rail's con
tainer carrier Freightliner has taken another twist with the eleventh hour withdrawal of one of three bidders.
The decision by the Maersk shipping line to end its threeyear pursuit of Freightliner leaves the management buyout team head-to-head with a joint bid from P&O Distribution and the Port of Felixstowe.
This should speed up British Rail's decision on who will take over the loss-making business— the new owner could be announced to the company's 2,000 road and rail staff by the end of the month.
Maersk, which says it will continue to use rail to move containers, says the cost of submitting the bid was prohibitive: it estimates the final bid process would have added £100,000 to its long running bill. Graham Zeitlin, who headed Maersk's Freightliner bid, says the company is unhappy with the way the sale was delayed. The three bidders submitted their initial offers 15 months ago only to be told that Freightliner's assets were to be changed and another bid would have to be tendered.
The new owner is expected to begin reorganisation of the .£75m annual turnover immediately, in order to stem the current ,£25in losses. Significant job losses are expected as the company seeks to make more efficient use of its 200 tractors and 500 trailers.