Dnb Markets News

Morgan Stanley's infrastructure investment arm is teaming up with U.S. maritime, energy and logistics solutions company Crowley to advance offshore wind energy solutions for the United States.Investment funds managed by Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners (MSIP), a private infrastructure fund platform within Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM), will hold a majority stake in Crowley Wind Services Holdings, a joint venture combining Crowley's end-to-end maritime and logistics capabilities with the financial strength and expertise of Morgan Stanley.

Danish wind turbine installation company Cadeler is contemplating a private placement of shares to raise funds to pay for a portion of a planned order for a newbuild offshore wind foundation installation vessel (F-Class) vessel.The company, which owns two offshore wind turbine installation vessels, with another two (X-class) on order, said Wednesday it planned to raise between $70 – 90 million through the placement of new ordinary shares with a par value of DKK 1.00 in the company at an offer price of NOK 32.32 per share, through an accelerated bookbuilding process.

Belgian oil tanker group Euronav and smaller Oslo-listed rival Frontline plan to merge in an all-stock transaction valued at $4.2 billion that they said would cut costs and help in their low-carbon transition.Euronav shareholders will own 59% of the combined group and will also receive a cash dividend before the deal closes, while Frontline owners will hold the remaining 41%, the companies said in a statement on Thursday.The merged company will use the Frontline name and will…

Offshore wind turbine installation firm Eneti plans to raise $200 million through a public offering of shares. It will use the funds raised to fund wind turbine installation vessel newbuilding program consisting of one contracted newbuilding vessel, one optional newbuilding vessel, and one proposed Jones Act compliant newbuilding vessel. As part of the Offering, Scorpio Holdings Limited, a related party of the company, has expressed an interest to purchase common shares at the public offering price with a value of at least $30.0 million.Citigroup…

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MPC Container Ships ASA (MPCC) announced it has reached a deal to acquire fellow Norwegian-based container shipping company Songa Container AS for $210.25 million on a debt and cash free basis. The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of July 2021.Upon closing, MPCC will acquire Songa’s fleet of 11 container vessels, with an average size of 2,250 TEU and an average age of 11.9 years , creating a combined fleet of 75 ships and a total capacity of roughly 158,000 TEU. Nine of the acquired ships are fitted with scrubbers while three are equipped with the highest ice-class.Constantin Baack, MPC Container Ships CEO, said, “This…

Danish offshore wind turbine transportation and installation company Swire Blue Ocean (SBO) is getting ready for listing on the Oslo Stock Exchange, to position the company for the next phase of its growth.Also, Swire Blue Ocean, as a subsidiary of Swire Pacific Offshore, will be rebranded and renamed Cadeler. The company said the new name would reflect the company’s Scandinavian maritime heritage "and its commitment to excellence in maritime operations."In connection with the Mikkel Gleerup…

Norway's Aker BioMarine plans to raise 2.15 billion Norwegian crowns ($225 million) in a private share sale valuing it at 8 billion crowns, followed by a listing of the company's stock, its owners Aker ASA and Aker Capital said on Friday.Aker BioMarine harvests off Antarctica small ocean crustaceans known as krill, rich in omega-3 fatty acids and eaten by whales, fish, seals and penguins, and turns it into food supplements and animal feed.Arctic Securities, DNB Markets, and Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (SEB) were appointed joint bookmakers for the planned transaction and listing of shares on

BW Offshore, a provider of floating production services to the oil and gas industry, has successfully completed a NOK 900 million senior unsecured bond issue with a coupon of three months NIBOR + 4.50% and maturity in December 2023.The Oslo Stock Exchange-listed company said that the settlement of the new bond issue is scheduled for 4 December 2019.The existing NOK bonds have either been repurchased as part of the offering or will be called with settlement mid-January 2020.In combination with the USD 297.4 million convertible bond issue announced on 5 November 2019, the new bond successfully concludes the company’s refinancing of its existing NOK bonds maturing between 2020 and 2022…

Offshore drilling contractor Borr Drilling has launched the initial public offering (IPO) in the United States of 5 million of its common shares on July 29.The drilling company that operates 27 rigs said that the offering of common shares on the New York Stock Exchange is at prices it expects to be ‘substantially similar’ to its share price on the Oslo Bors.The IPO price will be determined based on the book-building process and the closing price of its shares on the Oslo Børs on the pricing date of the offering. The offering will not be conducted as a rights offering and no repair offer will be made as the existing shareholders of the company do not have any pre-emptive rights.NYSE approved the company to list under the ticker symbol BORR.

Exmar Netherlands,  a fully owned subsidiary of Belgium’s Exmar and a manager of specialized floating assets, has completed the bond repayment issued in 2014, extended in July 2017 and maturing in July 2019.According to a press note from the Nicolas Saverys-led shipowner,  the outstanding senior unsecured bond was issued in 2014.This repayment has been funded partially with the new, unsecured NOK 650 million ($75 million) bond issued by Exmar on May 16, 2019, with final maturity in May 2022, and partially with own resources, the company said in its statement.Exmar Netherlands had completed the unsecured bond with a coupon of 3 months NIBOR plus 8.75% p.a.

SEACOR Marine Holdings, the provider of marine and support transportation services to offshore oil, has announced the acquisition of UP Offshore (Bahamas)  by a new joint venture company that is 49% owned by a subsidiary of SEACOR Marine and 51% owned by a subsidiary of Proyectos Globales de Energía y Servicios CME.UP Offshore is a leading provider of offshore support vessel services to the energy industry in Brazil, the largest regional market in Latin America, said a press release.Of UP Offshore’s 14 vessel fleet, 12 vessels are located in Brazil and registered under the Brazilian flag. Nine are platform supply vessels, four are ROV…

Norwegian offshore oil and gas consultancy and services companies First Geo (owned by Akastor), and AGR Bidco are set to merge."Akastor AS (Akastor), has entered into agreements with Silverfleet Capital, DNB Bank ASA and Nordea Bank Abp, filial i Norge (together the AGR stakeholders) to combine AGR Bidco AS (AGR) with First Geo AS," said a press statement.The Transaction will be carried out primarily as an asset deal, whereby assets in the current AGR legal structure and three legal entities will, together with First Geo, be transferred to a new legal structure, which in turn will be transferred to Akastor to establish the merged company.The merged company will be named AGR. Akastor will hold 100% of the shares in the company and 55% of the economic interest.

Norway-based provider of marine geophysical services Shearwater GeoServices Holding  announced the completion of the acquisition of the marine seismic acquisition assets and operations of WesternGeco, the geophysical services product line of Schlumberger.The owner of world’s largest fleet of high-end seismic vessels said in a release that the transaction was completed following receipt of relevant regulatory approvals and satisfaction of customary closing conditions.“We are now an industry-leading full-range geophysical services company with a solid financial and strategic platform. We are eager to move ahead as one strong combined business with global reach…

Flex LNG, controlled by Norwegian-born billionaire John Fredriksen, has raised $300 million in a private placement of shares to help pay for five new vessels costing $918 million, it said on Thursday.Fredriksen's companies typically add high-yield bond issues and bank loans at a later time to pay the cost not covered by share sales.When the vessels are delivered from the yards of South Korea's Daewoo (DSME) and Hyundai (HHI) in 2020 and 2021, Flex LNG will have a fleet of 13 ships, Flex said.Fredriksen himself bought shares for $100 million, cutting his overall stake in the firm to 44.6 percent following the placement from 49.9 percent.The new shares of Oslo-listed Flex were sold at 14.25 Norwegian crowns each, a five percent discount to Wednesday's closing price of 15 crowns, and the plac

Norwegian marine geophysical services company Shearwater GeoServices Holding AS has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the marine seismic acquisition assets and operations of Schlumberger’s geophysical services product line, WesternGeco.The transaction, which remains subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2018.Houston based Schlumberger will receive cash consideration based on an enterprise value of $600 million plus a 15 percent post-closing equity interest in Shearwater. For a limited period, Schlumberger  will be entitled to payments under an earn-out agreement linked to future vessel usage over and above specific thresholds.

Kongsberg Gruppen ASA (KONGSBERG) today entered into agreement with Rolls-Royce plc to acquire Rolls-Royce Commercial Marine, a world leading technology business within maritime operations. The transaction is structured as an acquisition by KONGSBERG of the marine products, systems and aftermarket services businesses carried out by subsidiaries of Rolls-Royce plc. The transaction does not include Bergen Engines nor Rolls-Royce's Naval Business. The parties have agreed a value for Rolls-Royce Commercial Marine of GBP 500 million (on a cash and debt free basis and with working capital at an agreed level). The final purchase price, will be determined based on Rolls-Royce Commercial Marine's cash, debt and working capital at time of completion of the transaction.

Norway-based shipping company Saga Tankers ASA said in a stock exchange announcement that  Allum Holding AS and Ferncliff AS have today sold all of their 47,726,655 shares in Saga Tankers, representing approximately 17.9% of the share capital. Ferncliff AS has sold 6,235,316 shares in the Company and Allum Holding AS has sold 41,491,339 shares in the Company. The price per share in the Secondary Sale was NOK 1.65. DNB Markets, a part of DNB Bank ASA, acted as sole bookrunner for the Secondary Sale. Allum Holding AS and Ferncliff AS are both owned by Øystein Stray Spetalen, member of the Board of Directors of Saga Tankers. Following the Secondary Sale…

Shares in crude oil tanker firm Frontline jump 10.5 pct to 34.48 crowns. DNB Markets predicts VLCC spot rates set to increase from $22,000 a day in 2018 to $41,000 a day by 2020. On asset values, DNB sees an 11 percent upside to VLCC resale prices by 2019 and 27 percent upside by 2020. DHT, Euronav, Frontline, Gener8 Maritime and Teekay are all upgrade to buy from hold. Share price target in DHT lifted to $5.2 from $4.0, Euronav to $10.7 from $9.0, Frontline NOK 42 from NOK 33 and Gener8 Maritime to $7.4 from $4.9 and Teekay to $1.8 from $1.5. DNB Markets says tanker stocks with moderate leverage have been unchanged year over year which shows that the downside has been taken out.

Chembulk Tankers announced that one of its wholly owned subsidiaries, Chembulk Holding LLC, has priced USD 200 million in senior secured bonds which will carry a coupon of 8.00% and be due in February 2023. The net proceeds from the bond offering will be used for refinancing of existing bank debt and general corporate purposes. In addition, this bond offering contains a tap issuance feature, where Chembulk can expand the issue amount at a future date to a maximum of USD 250 million, subject to standard issuance tests. DNB Markets acted as bookrunner in connection with the placement of the new bond issue, and KKR Capital Markets acted as financial advisor. An application will be made for the bonds to be listed on Oslo Børs.

Nordic American Tankers (NAT) announced an underwritten public offering of $100 million of its common shares pursuant to the Company’s effective shelf registration statement. At the Company’s request, the underwriters have reserved for sale an aggregate of approximately $1.2 million of its common shares for certain members of the Company’s board of directors, management and advisors, which includes approximately $1.0 million to be purchased by the Company’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and his immediate family. The Company also intends to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 15% of the offering. On December 1, 2017 NAT established a sale/leaseback arrangement for the three newbuilds to be delivered in 2018.

The Oslo, Norway-based MPC Container Ships AS has entered into a commitment to acquire a fleet of feeder container vessels with a total purchase price of USD 130 million. MPC Container Ships was formed in April 2017. Its main activity is to own and operate a portfolio of container ships with a focus on the feeder segment between 1,000 and 3,000 TEU. The company has also announced the successful completion of the private placement of 30.25 million new shares announced on 22 November 2017. The Private Placement was completed at a subscription price of NOK 47.50 per share, which was determined through an accelerated book-building process. The Private Placement will raise gross proceeds of approximately USD 175 million.

Bjorn Giaever will take up his position as the new chief financial officer (CFO) at Nordic American Tankers Limited (NAT) and Nordic American Offshore Ltd. (NAO) from October 16, 2017.   Giaever joins NAT/NAO from maritime focused investment bank Fearnley Securities AS, where he served as a director and partner in the Corporate Finance division. Giaever has served as a corporate advisor in the John Fredriksen group in London, top rated Senior Shipping Analyst in DNB Markets and partner in Inge Steensland AS, specializing in gas related maritime matters.    Outgoing NAT/NAO CFO, Turid M. Sorensen, will leave her administrative duties before the end of 2017. She will be suggested as board member of NAT.