UK-based bulk-liquid transportation provider Stolt-Nielsen will acquire the chemical tanker operations of Norwegian deep-sea transportation services provider Jo Tankers for nearly $575m.
The acquisition will comprise 13 chemical tankers and a 50% share in a joint venture with eight chemical tanker newbuilds.
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Stolt-Nielsen chief executive officer Niels Stolt-Nielsen said: “The transaction covers the tonnage replacement needs of our current chemical tanker fleet for the next several years.
“While giving us some operational savings, it adds new trade routes to our service offering, thus expanding our presence on key trade lanes and enabling us to better serve the needs of our global customer base.
“With the expanded fleet we will be better positioned to serve our customers with the quality, reliability and flexibility they require from their logistical provider. Because Stolt Tankers and Jo Tankers share similar approaches to ship management and trading, we will be able to quickly, cost effectively and synergistically integrate these ships into our worldwide operations.”
The 13 chemical tankers feature eight stainless steel ships that range between 19,000 deadweight tonnage (dwt) and 38,000dwt, as well as five ships with a combination of stainless steel and coated tanks, all of which are nearly 37,000dwt.
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By GlobalDataThe eight chemical tanker newbuildings comprise eco-friendly stainless steel ships of 33,000dwt on order from China-based New Times Shipbuilding that designs, manufactures, repairs, as well as sells ships in the country.
Of the eight newbuildings, one was delivered in early July this year, while the other seven are slated to be delivered in the second half of this year and in next year.
Funding for the acquisition will be received from some of Stolt-Nielsen’s main banks, along with a combination of bridge financing, secured term loans and available corporate funds.
