Helsinki Shipyard Acquisition Wrapping Up

The acquisition of the current Arctech Helsinki Shipyard in Finland will be finalized in May, the involved parties say, having agreed to transaction terms on May 9.

In preparation for the closing, current owner Arctech Helsinki Shipyard Oy (AHS) said it has established a new company, Helsinki Shipyard Oy, which will receive the transferred assets and operations from AHS and continue shipbuilding at the shipyard. AHS will then sell 100% of Helsinki Shipyard Oy’s shares to Algador Holdings Ltd., owned by Rishat Bagautdinov and Vladimir Kasyanenko.

Bagautdinov's and Kasyanenko's companies operate international shipping and shipbuilding businesses including Russia’s largest river cruise ship operator Vodohod LLC.

Following the transaction, AHS will continue its shipbuilding operations as a shareholder of Nevsky Shipyard LLC.

The final vessel that will be delivered from the yard under AHS’s ownership is the icebreaking tanker NB515, which was floated out on April 29 and completed sea trials on May 12.

Victor Olerskiy, the incoming Chairman of the Board of the Helsinki Shipyard Oy, said, “The transaction will not have any effect on subcontracts. AHS’s personnel will be transferred to Helsinki Shipyard Oy without changes to their contracts. Under the new owners Helsinki shipyard can concentrate on its core expertise, which are strong iceclass vessels and cruise ships.”

The shipyard's tender backlog currently stands at €1.5 billion ($1.7 billion), including several cruise ships, icebreakers and liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers. Letters of intent have already been signed for some of the tenders.