Articles

The multi-year takeover battle between Fredriksen, Euronav, and Saverys culminated late last year in an elegant solution. It was agreed that Fredriksen would sell his stake in Euronav to the Saverys family for just over $1.1 billion. Companies: Fredriksen, Euronav, Saverys, Frontline, Hemen Holdings, CMB Leasing

Marine Money’s mantra has always been that our events are…Where Deals Get Done! For example, what started as a casual remark during the LPG panel discussion at Marine Money Week made headlines last week. Companies: Fearnley Securities , Avance Gas, BW LPG, DNB Markets, BW Group,

Ship investing continues to be a calculated market, according to the latest data reports from the Baltic Exchange’s Investor Indices.

Hayfin Capital Management (“Hayfin”) has had a meteoric rise since its founding in 2009, just 15 years ago. The firm holds 31 billion Euros in assets under management, has 500+ portfolio companies, and 13 offices globally… Companies: Hayfin Capital Management, British Columbia Investment Management Corporation, RJR Nabisco, KKR, Shearson Lehman Hutton, Arctos Partners

Capital allocation is a “Champagne Problem,” as Taylor Swift might sing if she were a shipowner. The vexing issue of what to do with piles of free cash comes up more frequently now that shipowners actually have capital to allocate. Company: Klaveness Combination Carriers

Just minutes after an earnings call, Ocean Yield ASA (“Ocean Yield”) announced their contemplated, and now successful, senior unsecured bond issuance of NOK 1,251 million (approximately $118 million) due September 2029. Companies: Ocean Yield ASA, Arctic Securities, Danske Bank, DNB Markets, Nordea, SEB, BAHR, Navigator Gas, CVC DIF, Geogas LNG, France LNG Shipping ASA, NYK, Totale Energie, EDF, KKR

Cadeler, the Danish offshore wind service provider, who is also the world’s largest operator of offshore wind installation, operations, and maintenance services, recently announced the strengthening of its financial position with the refinancing of two major loans, one of which was entered into by Eneti Inc. before their business merger. Companies: Cadeler, Eneti Inc., Crédit Agricole, Société Générale, Eksfin, KEXIM, KSURE, KfW IPEX, Crédit Industriel, Korea Development Bank, The Danish Export and Investment Fund, DNB, Rabobank, Danske Bank, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation, Standard Chartered Bank

With the public equity market closed, or at least not always offering attractive valuations, we have witnessed increased institutional investment in the Jones Act and U.S. Flag markets recently. Of the 18 mergers, acquisitions and business combinations outlined last week in the table “Recent Jones Act/US Flag Related M&A,” 13 involved a financial or institutional investor, a whopping 72%! Talk about financialization. Companies: Saltchuk/OSG, Hanwha Ocean/Philly Shipyard, JPM/Bold Ocean, Crowley Maritime, Fairwater, Seacor, American Industrial Partners, Crowley Wind Services Holdings, Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners, U.S. DOE, Global Wind Energy Council, Pasha Group

Back in February, when we heard that a drilling startup, Eldorado Drilling AS had closed a $275 million senior secured debt facility from Beal Bank, originated by CSG Investments, for two ultra-deepwater drill ships, we were beyond impressed. Companies: Eldorado Drilling AS, Beal Bank, CSG Investments

The US, it is generally acknowledged, is near the top of the interest rate cycle. Since 2022, the US Federal Reserve (the Fed) has increased interest rates from 0.25% to 5.50%. The consensus is that the Fed will cut rates by approximately 1% in 2024.

This week we received Dealogic’s “Marine Finance Rankings Syndicated Loans – Second Quarter 2024,” suggesting some interesting trends that we have indicated in our monthly Deal Digest.

BW LPG and Avance Gas weren’t the only participants on the Marine Money Week has panel to have a busy summer. Last week, fellow panelist, Navigator Gas, agreed to their own summer deal. Companies: Navigator Gas, KKR, Ocean Yield , Crédit Agricole CA CIB, ING Bank N.V., SEB AB, Ten08 Energy, Attis Clean Energy

The past week has seen numerous debt facilities, from lease transactions to refinancings or both, from private credit funds to banks, and in the sizes from just above $5 million to nearly $1.0 billion… Talk about variety! Companies: Crédit Agricole, ABN AMRO, Bank of America, Flex LNG, AVIC Leasing, Seanergy, United Maritime

During a week of volatile stock movements, we thought it would be a great time to highlight a recent paper the world bank put out in July about how stress on global supply chains affects shipping markets.

Infrastructure private equity has been gaining huge amounts of traction on Wall Street. What was once seen as a relatively static and “safe” industry is gaining recognition for its potential to be part of high growth sectors such as energy, but also the ability to opportunistically invest and generate uncorrelated returns with essential assets…such as freight! Companies: Stonepeak, Blackstone , Blackrock, Global Infrastructure Partners, Oaktree, Duration Capital Partners, Fleetscape, Meerbaum, Ports America, and Rand Logistics

The term “hedge fund” is loaded with sexy associations. To name a few: Michael Burry’s “Big Short” of the U.S. mortgage market or George Soros bringing down the Bank of England or managers like Jim Simons whose Renaissance Technologies delivered an annualized 36% return after fees. Companies: Renaissance Technologies, Barclay’s Hedge Fund Index , S&P 500, Tufton’s Oceanic Hedge Fund, Sissener Canopus, Hayfin, Borealis

Bond issuance slowed a bit in the second quarter this year, perhaps a result of the frenzy of issuances earlier in the year, or because of lower capex needs as markets remain strong, or even because finding new opportunities to invest has become more challenging. Companies: Borr Drilling, Seatrium

On the surface, convertible bonds represent a rather simple concept. Investors purchase interest bearing notes, which can eventually be exchanged for common shares at a predefined conversion ratio (usually representing a premium to the market), effectively like a call option and its strike price. Companies: Eagle Bulk, Dorian LP, SFL Corporation, Scorpio Tankers, B. Dyson Capital Advisors , Star Bulk

J.P. Morgan’s purchase of Bold Ocean last week marks the continuation of a trend that we think will have a significant impact on the U.S. Flag market: the growing role of institutional investors with seemingly unlimited liquidity, a relatively low cost of capital, and a desire to grow. Companies: J.P. Morgan, Bold Ocean, Carlyle Group, Horizon Lines, Castle Harlan, New Mountain Capital, U.S. Ocean, American Industrial, MMI,

The M&A action keeps rolling! Just last week, Cyan Renewables (“Cyan”), a Singaporean operator of offshore wind support vessels, backed by infrastructure investing fund and portco owner, Seraya Partners (“Seraya”), announced its acquisition of Australian owner/operator of OSVs, MMA Offshore (“MMA”). Companies: Cyan Renewables, Seraya Partners, MMA Offshore, Alberta Investment Management, Eneti, Allens LLP