Developing Market Value

By Guy Morel, MC Shipping

The following speech was presented at Marine Money’s 8th Annual Ship Finance Forum held in New York on June 25-26.

It’s been almost ten years since many of us entered into this tenuous marriage between shipping and the US financial markets. Let’s just say this up front: it was a short honeymoon. But now, from the perspective of nearly a decade, we’re experienced enough to honestly ask ourselves, what have we – as shipping people – learned from our years in the public markets? And, to be more direct, should shipping be in the public domain? Before I answer that question, let’s take a step back and get some perspective using one company’s experience – MC Shipping.

We brought MC Shipping public in an IPO in 1989. The deal was banked by Salomon Brothers and sponsored by the Vlasov Group, which by now – everybody knows – is a leading private shipowner based in Monaco. MC Shipping was originally structured as a limited-life company. Our objective was to buy used ocean-going vessels, operate them profitably, and pay the excess cash flow to shareholders in the form of dividends. Ultimately, our goal was to liquidate the company by disposing of the ships and distributing the proceeds. We purchased eight general cargo ships with the $45 million raised in the IPO, mixed between feeder containerships and multi-purpose vessels which carry both dry cargo and containers.

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