Container shipper Ocean Network Express announced Friday a proposed tender offer for shares in Atlas, the U.S.-listed parent of top independent container ship owner Seaspan, together with Atlas’ three largest shareholders, reports NIKKEI Asia.
The deal
The consortium is offering to buy the 32% or so of outstanding shares not already owned or controlled by members for $14.45 a share, a roughly 30% premium over Atlas’ 30-day and 60-day average closing prices.
ONE is a Singapore-based joint venture of top Japanese maritime shipping companies Nippon Yusen, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and Kawasaki Kisen.
Seaspan leases its container ships to shipping liners, which often charter such vessels for months or years to supplement their own fleets when transportation demand spikes. ONE itself has chartered 22 ships from Seaspan, according to the latter.
The tender offer will allow Atlas to “focus on the long term without the emphasis on short-term results,” said David Sokol, chairman of Atlas and a member of the consortium, in Friday’s announcement.
ONE’s April-June net profit more than doubled on the year to $5.5 billion, a quarterly record. It logged a $16.8 billion net profit for fiscal 2021.
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Source: NIKKIE Asia
