Chinese and Singaporean rivals in bidding war for historic London shipping institution.
One of London’s oldest shipping institutions is ready for at least £70million worth takeover for which a fierce bidding war is going. The fight is on between the state-owned China Merchants Group and the Singapore Exchange, which is seeking a foothold in the City as it fights for a greater share of the global container market.
The Baltic Exchange was founded in 1774 and has been at the heart of global shipping since the days of the British Empire. The exchange sells information on freight prices to clearing houses for around £500,000 a year. Its Baltic Dry Index is widely regarded as a measure of world trade.
Bidding Highlights:
- Other bidders:
- American firm CME Group
- American firm Intercontinental Exchange, and
- Platts, which is owned by New York company McGraw Hill Financial.
- The wealth of data collected by the exchange pools in more bidders.
- This market data that the exchange produces is absolutely embedded at the core of the shipping industry and earns more interest.
- The Baltic has used to cover the daily running cost of its operations without exploiting the same.
- The Baltic Exchange employs 28 staff and made a £1.5million pre-tax profit in the year to March 2015.
- The exchange is owned by 380 shareholders, which are mostly shipping companies.
Source: This is Money
