Merchant Bank News

International law firm Watson Farley & Williams (WFW) has advised private bank Berenberg on its acquisition, jointly with a Japanese financial institution, of a circa US$460m performing shipping loan portfolio from the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). WFW previously advised Berenberg on the acquisition of a similar US$300m portfolio from RBS in February 2017. Hamburg-based international investment and private bank Berenberg was founded in 1590 and is the world’s oldest merchant bank and the world’s second oldest bank overall. It is especially active in pan-European equity research, brokerage and capital markets transactions, in addition to private banking for wealthy customers and institutional asset management.

A new niche bank for the shipping and offshore sector opened its doors for business on December 20, 2016.   Serving the global maritime markets from its main office in Oslo, Maritime & Merchant Bank ASA (M&M) will provide secured lending in the form of first priority terms loans.   “The sustained tight credit market for the maritime sector has left many companies owners seeking financing with few alternatives,” said M&M CEO, Halvor Sveen. “We believe M&M can fill a need for a specialized bank with experience in shipping and offshore that is able to contribute to good solutions for our customers.”

German banks are struggling to recoup tens of billions of dollars of loans as a global shipping industry slump hits them hard. The lenders - among the biggest backers of shipowners over the past 20 years - are behind up to a quarter of the world's $400 billion of outstanding shipping loans, three shipping financiers told Reuters. This would make them collectively more exposed than banks from any other single country in terms of outstanding debt to the sector. These institutions…

DVB Group Merchant Bank (Asia) Ltd, a unit of Germany’s DVB Bank SE, can now go ahead and seek bids for selling six ships of GOL Offshore, earlier known as Great Offshore Ltd, to recover their part of outstanding loans, says a report in the Livement. The Bombay high court has allowed DVB Group to start the process of undertaking valuations of six ships of Mumbai-based offshore services firm and seek potential bids. Bombay high court said six offshore vessels—Malaviya 23, Malaviya 24, Malaviya 25, Malaviya 27, Malaviya 28 and Malaviya 9— lender can immediately publish public advertisements and notices after 24 June for the sale of the vessels in its order dated 13 June.

A New York-based commodities merchant bank run by veteran energy traders, Neal Shear and Kaushik Amin, announced on Friday plans to buy the aging Come by Chance refinery in Newfoundland from South Korea's state-run oil company. Korea National Oil Corp said it will sell the 115,000-barrel-per-day refinery to SilverRange Financial Partners LLC for an undisclosed price following a months-long search to find a buyer. The deal also includes 53 gas stations and convenience stores. SilverRange is a New York-based merchant bank focused on energy and natural resources owned by SilverPeak Partners, a real estate fund with over $12 billion in assets under management, according to its website.

Korea National Oil Corp said on Friday that it would sell its 115,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Come by Chance, Newfoundland, to SilverRange Financial Partners LLC for an undisclosed price following a months-long search to find a buyer. KNOC's Harvest Operations Corp unit is selling the aging refinery, as well as 53 gas stations and convenience stores, to SilverRange. The New York-based merchant bank has entered into a multiyear refining deal with an unspecified global oil company, Harvest Operations and SilverRange said in a release. "(The refinery) is strategically located along Atlantic crude oil shipping routes and provides access to petroleum markets in Europe and the U.S. Eastern seaboard," SilverRange official Harsh Rameshwar said in the release.

Maritime and Merchant AS  (to be renamed Maritime & Merchant Bank ASA), which was granted a banking license by The Financial Supervisory of Norway (FSAN) on the 28th of January for establishing a global bank dedicated solely to the shipping and offshore industries, has announced the appointment of Dagfinn Lunde to its Board of Directors. Lunde brings more than 30 years experience gained from leadership roles at several leading shipping, banking and consulting companies. His international experience includes management positions within the Klaveness Group of Companies…

Maritime & Merchant AS (M&M) (TBR Maritime & Merchant Bank ASA) has received regulatory approval to operate a private bank in Norway, underpinning the firm’s strategy to become a niche financial institution dedicated to meeting the funding needs of owners active in the shipping and offshore industries, worldwide. “We are currently preparing for a capital issue with a target of $300-350 million (USD) in equity to fund operations. We have selected Pareto Securities AS and DNB Markets as Joint Lead Managers and Bookrunners, with Cleaves Securities to act as Financial Advisor.

United Arab Shipping Company (UASC) closed a $1.3 biillion (USD) multi-tranche syndicated loan facility for the partial financing of seven 14,000 TEU container ships and five 18,000 TEU container ships. The facility is part of a larger $1.7 billion debt financing related to UASC’s announced $2.3 billion capital expenditure program for 17 newbuilding container vessels including, in total, 11 14,000 TEU and six 18,000 TEU vessels. Deutsche Bank AG, London Branch (DB) acted as Global Coordinator to UASC for the entire $1.7 billion debt financing. The 17 vessels include 10 vessels for which shipbuilding contracts were signed in August 2013 with the remaining seven vessels being option vessels. The process of option vessels is still continuing.

An experienced team of shipping, offshore and finance professionals are pleased to announce the intention to establish Maritime & Merchant Bank (M&M) a niche financial institution dedicated to meeting the funding needs of owners active in the shipping and offshore industries, worldwide. The newly formed project company, Maritime & Merchant AS (M&M AS), will file a banking license application on behalf of M&M during the autumn of 2013. The main sponsoring shareholders of M&M AS are currently Arne Blystad…

A team of Norway-based shipping, offshore and finance professionals intend to establish Maritime & Merchant Bank (“M&M’’) a niche financial institution dedicated to meeting the funding needs of owners active in the shipping and offshore industries, worldwide. The newly formed project company, Maritime & Merchant AS (M&M AS), will file a banking license application on behalf of M&M during the autumn of 2013. The main sponsoring shareholders of M&M AS are currently Arne Blystad…

Capital Corp Merchant Banking, a U.S.-based merchant banking group, say they have been working on an environmentally friendly ballast water treatment system (BWTS) project with a client and have entered into USD $41-million funding agreement with them. This patent-pending project makes better, more energy-efficient use of existing ballast water treatment technologies, resulting in a smaller energy footprint of the system and decreasing the ship's power-capacity needs. The funding structure Capital Corp Merchant Banking has devised consists of providing its client with $19M in common stock…

Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp. announced its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2013. -Net Revenues of $5.6 million. -EBITDA of $3.8 million. -Net Income of $1.1 million. -Debt reduction of $31.8 million, or approximately 15% of the company’s outstanding indebtedness. “I am pleased to announce our first profitable financial quarter since 2011, despite the challenging dry bulk market conditions. Our net income was $1.1 million compared to a net loss of $6.4 million for the same period last year. During the first quarter of 2013 charter rates continued to deteriorate and our average daily Time Charter Equivalent (“TCE”) rate decreased to $6,004 per vessel as compared to $9,546 in the first quarter of 2012.

TBS International plc (NASDAQ: TBSI) has reached agreements with its bank lenders on terms to reduce its leverage and refresh its fleet. As part of these agreements, TBS and the syndicates led by Bank of America and DVB Group Merchant Bank have agreed on terms to restructure outstanding indebtedness that contemplate exchanging existing senior debt for new senior debt and equity and the refreshing of the TBS fleet by long-term charters of modern tweendeckers and bulk carriers. These terms provide for payment in full of the amounts owed to the Bank of America and DVB syndicates over a significantly extended maturity period, the continued business operations of TBS under current management and the same quality of Five Star service that TBS's customers have always experienced.

DUBLIN, IRELAND, Mar 15, 2011 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) --TBS International plc (NASDAQ: TBSI) announced today its financial and operating results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2010. Joseph E. "The TBS results for the fourth quarter 2010 reflect the ongoing downward pressure on dry cargo freight rates that have continued into the first quarter of 2011, as evidenced by the Baltic Dry Indices. "The Baltic Dry Index ('BDI') which was at 2,446 on September 30, 2010 descended to 1,773 on December 24th (the last reporting date in 2010) and was at 1,559 on March 14, 2011.

India’s newest private shipbuilding firm,Pipavav Shipyard Ltd, is the latest in a growing list of firms looking to enter the business of making diesel ship engines in an attempt to meet growing demand for these in India and in other parts of the world, and is talking to two multinational firms for a partnership. Last week, Pipavav Shipyard started work on the first four of 26 Panamax bulk carriers that have been ordered by Norwegian, French and Greek fleetowners for a total of $1.1 billion (Rs4,360 crore). The contract makes Pipavav the world’s second biggest Panamax size shipbuilder by order size after Japan’s dry bulk cargo shipbuilding specialist Oshima Shipbuilding Co. Ltd.

Six of the former Renaissance cruiseships now owned by Cruiseinvest LLC, a Marshall Islands-incorporated company, have been reflagged to the Marshall Islands, Cruiseinvest, and International Registries Inc, the managers of the Marshall Islands maritime and corporate registers, said in a joint announcement today (Wednesday 5 December 2001). "We required a register and flag administration known for its integrity to match the quality of our superb new cruiseships and to give us business flexibility, and the Marshall Islands fulfilled these needs," said Dominique Prunier, chief executive of Cruiseinvest Management S.A., a Marshall Islands company which manages the Cruiseinvest fleet and which has an office in Paris to oversee the management of the fleet.

Six of the former Renaissance cruiseships now owned by Cruiseinvest LLC, a Marshall Islands-incorporated company, have been reflagged to the Marshall Islands, Cruiseinvest, and International Registries Inc, the managers of the Marshall Islands maritime and corporate registers, said in a joint announcement on December 5. "We required a register and flag administration known for its integrity to match the quality of our superb new cruiseships and to give us business flexibility, and the Marshall Islands fulfilled these needs," said Dominique Prunier, chief executive of Cruiseinvest Management S.A., a Marshall Islands company which manages the Cruiseinvest fleet and which has an office in Paris to oversee the management of the fleet.

Maritime Telecommunications Network (MTN), of Miramar, Fla., a provider of satellite-based communications, networking and other services to the cruise and offshore oil and gas industries, announced completion of its acquisition by an affiliate of Perseus, L.L.C. Perseus is a merchant bank and private equity fund management company with offices in Washington, D.C. and New York City. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Over the past year, MTN has significantly expanded in its core markets and made significant inroads in its military business. In March 2004, MTN launched a joint venture with Cingular Wireless (formerly AT&T Wireless) to give passengers on North American cruises the ability to use their own mobile phones at sea for the first time.

A multinational shipping firm that has signed a deal to have its ships built at an Indian shipyard, which is still under construction, has already sold the ships, an indication of growing demand for ocean-going vessels. This is the first time such a thing is happening at an Indian shipyard. The yard, Pipavav Shipyard Ltd, is under construction and will not start building ships before February 2008. On 19 March, the Bermuda-based Golden Ocean Group Ltd.—the dry bulk cargo ship operating firm controlled by Norwegian shipping tycoon John Fredriksen—had placed orders with Pipavav Shipyard to build four Panamax bulk carriers, each with a cargo carrying capacity of 75,000 tonnes. The agreed price of each vessel was $35.5m. The company also placed an "optional" order for two more Panamax vessels.