Prospective Buyer News

Fincantieri risks an EU antitrust veto against its bid for Chantiers de l'Atlantique because of the difficulty of addressing regulators' concerns, people familiar with the matter said, in what would be a setback to Italy's industrial ambitions.Italy sees the deal by Europe's largest shipyard as an opportunity to create a European industrial champion in the shipbuilding industry to stave off competition from Asia and other regions.EU antitrust enforcers however are concerned that…

Alibra Shipping Research Weekly Market Report takes a look on current market scene of bulk carriers. For a little while now, the story has been “Now’s a great time to buy bulk carriers, asset prices are low…” We’re cautious of following the herd mentality so we wondered: is that still the case or has the moment passed? On Monday, the Baltic Exchange assessed the price of a five-year-old, 74,000-dwt Panamax at $13.6m. This is quite a decline on 18 months ago, when the benchmark vessel was assessed at$20m in the first week of January 2015. But the value of the Baltic’s benchmark Panamax has been appreciating ever since hitting an all-time low of $11.14m on March 29 this year.

Singapore Sovereign Wealth Fund Temasek Holdings has put Neptune Orient Lines (NOL) up for sale, says a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report. The WSJ reported that Temasek was in talks with one buyer in recent months but the two sides could not agree on a price for the loss-making company. The WSJ put NOL's market capitalization at 2.3 billion Singapore dollars ($1.7 billion). The report, citing unnamed sources, said the liner company has been "shopped to prospective buyers" in recent months. NOL is about 67 per cent owned by Temasek, going by Bloomberg data. The company had been in talks with a prospective buyer, but "the two sides couldn't agree on price", added the report.

A number of prospective buyers have emerged for the companies of the Sietas Group. This is the result of the extensive investor search conducted by Berthold Brinkmann, receiver of the Sietas shipyard: "A number of people are interested in an overall solution, and there is special interest in Neuenfelder Maschinenfabrik (NMF) and Norderwerft. Today, the board of creditors of the Sietas shipyard asked me to enter into concrete negotiations with the prospective buyers." As reported, these prospective buyers have already submitted indicative offers, and they are to concretise and confirm these offers by mid-May. For this purpose, an in-depth due diligence audit is now starting, including the disclosure of all business documents of the Sietas shipyard, NMF and Norderwerft.

Even the bilges of the most well-made vessels usually collect water or other fluids, resulting in foul odors, accelerated corrosion and an unsightly mess. The newest product from Delta "T" Systems leaves those problems in the past. Keeping an eye below deck, the new Arid Bilge Sentry ensures boats stay dry below deck. From a single control box, this system performs two key functions. First, its keeps all bilge compartments bone dry. Secondly, it logs and displays the historical…

Jeppesen Marine is now offering a 45-day trial and evaluation program to introduce prospective customers to the benefits offered by the company’s Vessel and Voyage Optimization Solution (VVOS). Designed to address the needs of owners, operators, charterers and masters of trans-ocean vessels, VVOS empowers masters and shore-side managers to develop optimized passages while managing vessel speed, fuel consumption, schedule integrity, seakeeping and environmental conditions. Jeppesen Marine’s patent-pending Hindcast Analysis is included as part of the no-cost, no-risk VVOS trial. Key performance indicators (KPIs), such as fuel conservation, cargo loss reduction, vessel damage, motion reduction and schedule integrity are selected to match each customer’s operational objectives.

Struggling British shipbuilder Cammell Laird, which called in receivers last week, is to mothball its yard at Teesside, northeast England, and cut over 300 jobs nationally. Accountants PriceWaterhouseCoopers, who are acting as receivers, said on Wednesday there would be 110 job losses at Teesside, 150 cut at Birkenhead, northwest England, and around 60 cuts at Tyneside, northeast England. The company, whose main shipyard was set up in 1824, had laid off an unspecified number of U.K. workers in recent weeks, PriceWaterhouseCoopers said. The group has a total U.K. workforce of nearly 2,000. Cammell Laird entered receivership after a series of cancelled orders hit its finances, causing it to suspend trading in its stock and bonds.