At the invitation of China Steel Corp. (CSC) and Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp., Wan Hai Lines Ltd. has shown its willingness to enter into a consortium led by CSC to invest in the state-run China Shipbuilding Corp., which has decided to go private through public bidding, according to a report on Taiwan Headlines.
China Shipbuilding estimated it would sell a 51 percent up to 66 percent stake to become a privately owned firm. Potential buyers of the China Shipbuilding shares include Evergreen Marine Corp., Taiwan Navigation Co., Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp., Yung Chi Paint & Varnish Mfg. Co., Kuang Tai Co., Wan Hai Lines Ltd., China Steel Corp., MPH, BAE of the U.S., Mitsubishi of Japan, and Hyundai of South Korea.
The CSC-led consortium will also contain China Shipbuilding's downstream firms, such as Yung Chi Paint & Varnish Mfg. Co. If everything goes smoothly, China Shipbuilding will have a new management team comprised of its downstream firms and its two-largest clients-Yang Ming and Wan Hai.
Yang Ming has contracted China Shipbuilding to build 22 vessels that will be delivered by the end of 2009; Wan Hai currently has 10 vessels under construction by China Shipbuilding that will be delivered by the end of 2008.
Wan Hai chairman Chen Chao-heng said his company would give first priority to participating in the CSC-led consortium, rather than in another group led by the MPH Group of the U.S.
China Shipbuilding's net worth currently stands at $145.45 million, with a capitalization of $336.36 million.