Market Play

If you like a little more risk in your equity investments, Jan Hakon Pettersen and Garup Meidell, formerly of Bergesen Worldwide, have formed Gaia Maritime AS, as a pure asset play on the recovery of container shipping asset values. Through a private placement, led by DnB NOR, Fearnley Fonds, and Pareto Private Equity, the company hopes to raise NOK 300 million to NOK 600 million (approximately$50 to $100 million). The founders will invest $1 million themselves. Proceeds will be used to purchase new containerships and for working capital. Following the offering, the company intends to list the shares in June on the Oslo Axess.
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Full House in Athens – Part 2

By Kevin Oates

…in the longer term shipping should correct but quality, transparency and financial strength are key to survival.

Despite the tough market and the general lack of ship finance, Marine Money’s Greek Ship Finance Forum again filled the seats in Athens.  With 310 delegates and speakers and some 40 more for the TEN Ltd lunch, there was plenty gossip and exchange of views at the 11th Annual conference held on the 8th of October 2009.

The event had started with a speaker’s dinner the previous night co-hosted by Navios Maritime Holdings and was to end in the early hours of the following morning at the Capital Party co-hosted by Capital Product Partners LP at a well-known Athens nightclub.  Even if the market is tough, we still know how to enjoy ourselves.

Back at the conference, our day began with Guy Verberne, a leading economist at Fortis Bank (Nederland) telling us that the economic recovery has come and it may well be sustainable.  China, he says, has plenty foreign reserves to prolong it’s stimulus package for as long as it needs and he sees no meaningful cutbacks from the stimulus packages of western governments, at least through 2010.  A risk is a double dip in 2011 if we get too bogged down in debt.
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Neptune Offshore

Norway and the offshore industry, at least from the perspective of finance, have become synonymous and Pareto Private Equity (“Pareto”) has played a key role in this development. This week Pareto announced the successful private placement of equity on behalf of Neptune Offshore AS and Neptune Subsea IS, a Norwegian partnership similar to a K/S, with private and institu­tional investors. The deal was placed in the Norwegain market and sold quickly. The capital raised ($25 million) on behalf of Neptune Offshore will primarily be used to acquire a controlling equity inter­est in Neptune Subsea IS which will be the contracting party for two Ulstein SX 130 design multipurpose offshore vessels to be built at Sinopacific Shipbuilding in China for delivery in the 1st and 2nd quarter of 2010. To pay for the newbuildings, Pareto raised an addi­tional $50 million together with a $25 million shareholder guarantee on behalf of Neptune Subsea. The investor group included both hedge funds and strategic investors all of whom have long experi­ence in the offshore industry.

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