Danaos Signs Sale-and-Leaseback Deal with EnTrust
The provider of seaborne transportation services, Danaos Corporation has concluded a $150m sale-and-leaseback deal for two of its biggest boxships with the alternative investment firm EnTrust Global.Watson Farley & Williams (WFW) has advised EnTrust Global’s (ETG) Blue Ocean Funds on the transaction of the two container vessels “HYUNDAI RESPECT” and “HYUNDAI HONOUR” acquired from and chartered back to two subsidiaries of Danaos, said a press release.This is the Blue Ocean Funds’ first sale and leaseback in the Greek shipping market, with the US$150m made available to Danaos, a NYSE-listed global shipping company maintaining a fleet of large size container vessels…
WFW Advises Teekay on Major Financing Initiatives
International law firm Watson Farley & Williams LLP (“WFW”) advised long-standing client Teekay on the successful completion of financing initiatives for Teekay Corporation and Teekay Offshore Partners LLP (“TOO”). This included assisting TOO on US$400m of secured bank financing and the raising of US$200m in fresh equity capital along with the deferment of certain bond maturity dates, whilst parent company Teekay Corp completed US$350m of bank financing and raised a further US$100m in equity capital. The transatlantic WFW Maritime team advising Teekay was led by London partner Nigel Thomas and senior associate Patrick Smith, assisted by senior associate George Macheras, associate Natalia Golovataya and trainees Cameron Johnstone-Brown and Tanpreet Rooprai.
Shippers Turn to Equity Markets as Sector Eyes Recovery
Shipping companies are turning to equity markets to fill a growing funding gap, betting that investors hungry for decent returns will provide capital to a sector recovering from its worst downturn since the 1980s. Ship owners ordered large numbers of vessels between 2007 and 2009, just as the global economy sank into crisis. Prospects have brightened in recent months as world trade picks up and the ship glut is absorbed. The industry still faces a multi-billion dollar financing hole after banks…
