Panalpina Faces Investor Claim

Swiss logistics giant Panalpina said Monday it is disputing a claim for damages by a major institutional shareholder resulting from the company’s withdrawal from troubled business in Nigeria.

Deccan Value Advisors, a Greenwich, Conn.-based private investment firm, filed the complaint in court in Laredo, Texas. The company owns 5 percent of Switzerland-based Panalpina and has been a shareholder since 2006.

Panalpina withdrew from domestic service in Nigeria in August 2008 following an investigation into financial irregularities in its operations there.

Deccan Value Advisors is demanding compensation for damages and interest from stock market losses that came after Panalpina left the Nigeria business.

“Panalpina disputes any of the manifested compensation demands,” the company said in a statement.

Panalpina has seen its share price grow this year on European exchanges as freight volume declines have stabilized and the company has cut costs.

Panalpina has laid off about 10 percent of its work force worldwide and reduced costs by some $120 million.