Rickmers Holding Ag News

German shipping group Rickmers, which filed for insolvency in June, said on Thursday its ship management unit had the all-clear to continue business after it was bought by Bremen-based Zeaborn Group and owner Bertram Rickmers. The company said in a statement that a consortium consisting of Zeaborn and Bertram Rickmers bought the division, which has its main sites in Hamburg, Singapore and Cyprus after they won a bidding process. "It has only taken a few months after preliminary self-administration of the assets of Rickmers Holding AG was ordered to find a solution for continuing the business…

Board of HSH Nordbank AG has surprisingly denied approval of the term sheet regarding the financial restructuring of the Rickmers Group, says a press release from the group. Rickmers Holding AG strives for restructuring in self-administration on the basis of continuation of the business and vessel operations, the release said. On 19 April 2017, Rickmers Holding AG reached an understanding with, inter alios, HSH Nordbank AG on a term sheet regarding the restructuring of material financial liabilities of the Rickmers Group that was subject to corporate approval of HSH Nordbank AG and contingent on the restructuring of the bond 2013/2018 issued by Rickmers Holding AG.

German shipping group Rickmers said it would file for insolvency after bondholder HSH Nordbank rejected its restructuring plan a day ahead of a last-ditch bondholders' meeting. Rickmers had proposed a revamp plan under which the equity stake of owner Bertram Rickmers was to be reduced to 24.9 percent, while bondholders, HSH Nordbank and potentially another bank would hold 75.1 percent. But HSH "highly surprisingly" rejected that plan, Rickmers said in a statement on Wednesday. "According to the assessment of the management board and supervisory board of Rickmers Holding AG the positive going concern prognosis of Rickmers Holding AG does therefore no longer apply," it said, adding its management board would file for insolvency without undue delay.

Following last month’s news that Singapore Based Rickmers Maritime Trust is to be wound up, Rickmers Holding AG released a statement on April 19 reporting that an understanding had been reached regarding restructuring of the Rickmers Group. It is understood that sole shareholder Bertram Rickmers will reduce his shareholding to below 25 percent, while the remaining 75 percent will be taken by lenders and bondholders. The value today of the Rickmers Group (a Rickmers Holding AG subsidiary) sits at $740 million, according to VesselsValue.

Marking further consolidation in the breakbulk and project cargo sector, Rickmers Group said it has sold its business operations of Rickmers-Linie to ZEABORN. Rickmers-Linie GmbH & Cie. KG and MCC Marine Consulting & Contracting GmbH & Cie. KG, which are both fully-owned by Rickmers Holding AG, reached agreement to sell their respective operating businesses to ZEABORN Chartering GmbH & Co. KG on February 7, 2017. The planned sale, subject to the approval of the financing banks of the Rickmers Group and subject to anti-trust authorities…

Hamburg, 11 November 2016 – In the first nine months of 2016, the Rickmers Group generated consolidated revenues of € 373.6 million. This represents a decline of 15 percent versus the previous year’s period (€ 439.7 million). This fall is due mainly to the persistently strained market situation through the expiry of further high-margin charter contracts, temporary fleet idleness and follow-on charters at current low market rates. Furthermore, lower revenues from freight and a stronger fall in capacity utilisation in the project cargo area also had a negative impact. As a specific consequence of this revenue decline, the operating result before interest…

Rickmers Holding AG and E.R. Capital Holding have jointly decided not to pursue the merger of their ship management activities. For many years the companies have worked together in ship insurance and ship brokerage. These partnerships are to be intensified and extended to other ship management activities. Both companies keep the content of the merger discussions in confidence. Rickmers Holding AG will continue to pursue its strategy, particularly in respect of expanding the fleet under third-party management. Additionally, processes are to be optimised, structures streamlined and profitability increased. Ignace Van Meenen, CEO of the Rickmers Group, explained the objective: “We aim to continue establishing and expanding customer relationships in an ongoing and focused way.

In the first half of 2016 the Rickmers Group generated consolidated revenues of €249.3 million ($279 mln), 13.9 percent lower than in the corresponding period in 2015 (€289.6 million, $324 mln). The main underlying factors are the persistently strained market situation, expiring high-margin charter contracts, follow-on charters at the prevalent low market rates, lower freight earnings, and a sharper decline in capacity utilization in the project cargo business. The Group’s operating result before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) saw a clear fall of 36.1 per cent to € 87.7 million ($98.2 mln)  (H1 2015: € 137.4 million) ($153.87 mln )…