Articles

We think 2025 is going to be another active year for M&A, but the drivers will be different than they were in 2024. As a refresher, 2024 was an active year for M&A, with a few particularly high profile take-private transactions that perpetuated a trend towards private/conglomerate ownership. Company: Evercore,

Shipping’s rich history has been full of M&A advances on fellow companies. Sometimes, however, shipping companies invest in one another through passive positions. Companies: Scorpio Tankers, DHT Holdings , Castor Maritime , MPC Capital AG , MPC Münchmeyer Petersen & Co. GmbH, Thalvora Holdings GmbH, Toro Corp, MPC Container Ships, ZIM, MPC Energy Solutions, Wilhelmsen Group , Zeaborn

Over their many years of investing in the shipping sector, Oaktree’s repertoire has included many entries and exits from big names in shipping, and even more recently in offshore. Companies: Oaktree, Fleetscape, Quantum Pacific Group, DNB Markets, Crédit Agricole , Pelagic Partners , Dynamis Capital, Eastern Pacific Shipping, ZIM

TANKER STOCKS CONTINUE THEIR DOWNWARD SLIDE

In the labyrinthine corridors of the shipping industry, where invisible forces like weather patterns and geopolitical ripples dictate the flow of global trade, data is often the only map. Kpler, a rising star in maritime analytics, has just redrawn that map.

Our CFO panel at Marine Money NYC said it best: The point of deleveraging is to re-lever in the future. Companies: Scorpio Tankers,

It is a well-established trend that the offshore sector’s recovery has been no easy feat to finance. Despite greater contract coverage, improving rates, and asset prices, the non “green” aspect of the industry has deterred most lenders – with the exceptions of bond investors and private credit funds. Companies: Seacor Marine Holdings Inc., EnTrust, Fujian Mawei Shipbuilding, Carlyle

It is difficult to believe that we are only a few weeks away from 2025, and it has been only two weeks since we hosted our final conference of 2024! Marine Money NYC was packed on November 21st, brimming with energy, bountiful discussions about what is going on in our industry, and…walkout music?

Close to this time last year, Star Bulk shook up the headlines with the announcement of its merger with Eagle Bulk, which was finally completed around April of this year. Companies: Star Bulk, Eagle Bulk

Last week, we discussed Diana Shipping’s long list of financing activities in 2024, having recently added to it with an extremely successful and competitive $25 million tap issue from their previous $150 million Senior Unsecured bond issuance. Companies: Diana Shipping, Nordea, Altera Shuttle Tankers, Ocean Yield, TORM, Stena, DFDS, Klaveness Combination Carriers

The Sævik family’s Havila Shipping ASA has had a tenuous recent history, like much of the offshore sector. Companies: Havila Shipping ASA, Havila Holding, Arctic Securities AS, Volstad

WHY DO VLCCS SUFFER THESE DAYS?
LINERS OUTPERFORM ALL OTHER SECTORS

M&A was a hot topic at the Marine Money NYC forum in November, and for good reason. Through 2024 we have seen some high-profile M&A transactions in the shipping industry, and three of them (thus far) have been successful take-private transactions.

CAN SEASONALITY SUPPORT VLCC SPOT RATES?
LINERS AND CONTAINERS DOMINATE OTHER SECTORS

For over a decade, private equity has played a recurring role in shipping through various strategies. Following the financial crisis in 2008, many mega-funds identified investment opportunities in distressed situations, arising from depressed trade activity and asset values, as well as in private credit, arising from a liquidity crisis and funding gap. Companies: Brookfield, Oaktree, Golden Energy Offshore, Blue Ocean Partners, Riverstone, TPG Capital, Canada Pension Plan, Viking Cruises , Torm, BlackRock, GasLog (through Global Infrastructure Partners, GIC, Hahn & Co. , Morgan Stanley , SK Shipping, Apollo, Energos

It is that time of year again where we must inform our readers that this is the last Freshly Minted issue of 2024.

Last week, we discussed the various take-private transactions we have recorded this year, as compared to the new listings. The results may surprise many, with a three to six score (take-private transactions vs. new listings), although the scale of transactions was much greater for the take-privates. Companies: Pangaea, MTM, BW, Avance Gas, Torm, Sinokor, International Seaways, Diamond S

With assets that operate for 50+ years, limited newbuildings, stringent ownership and operating requirements, and a finite number of players, dealmaking in the Jones Act can sometimes seem sleepy – but not lately! Companies: Maritime Partners, E1 Marine, U.S. Coast Guard , J. Russell Flowers, MG Transport Holdings, American Tanker Holdings Company, U.S. Marine Management, ATLAS SP Partners, Deutsche Bank, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs

Recently, we received Dealogic’s “Marine Finance Rankings Syndicated Loans—Third Quarter 2024,” presenting some interesting data points comparing the nine months’ of deal activity each year from 2008 to present and what it means for ongoing themes in our industry.

One private equity investor to enter the shipping industry recently is Brookfield, a New York-listed and Toronto-based investment management company with AUM of around $900 billion. Companies: Teekay, Teekay Offshore Partners, Teekay Shuttle Tankers, Altera Infrastructure Holdings, Altera Shuttle Tankers, Evercore, Altera Shuttle Tankers, SEACOR, Maistros Shiptrade, Angelicoussis Group, Jefferies, Rystad Energy , Kirkland & Ellis and Schjødt, PwC, Knutsen NYK Offshore