SIMIC

SINGAPAORE-HEADQUARTERED Japanese carrier Ocean Network Express (ONE) has become joint-owner of the world's largest non-operating containership owner, Seaspan Corp, in a US$10.9 billion deal.
In an announcement of the completion of the acquisition of Seaspan parent Atlas Corp, by Poseidon Acquisition Corp, ONE and partners, ONE said it now owned 28.7 per cent of the now private company, which has been delisted from the New York Stock Exchange.
Management explained that by taking the company private they would be able to focus on the long-term business strategy as they implement a large fleet expansion without the investment communities' focus on quarterly earnings.
Starting in 2018, Seaspan began a programme to transform its fleet composition while diversifying its customer base and embarking on a fleet and capacity expansion, according to Fort Lauderdale's Maritime Executive.
From a focus on a fleet under 10,000 TEU, the company has grown from 89 vessels at the end of 2017 to 189 vessels including those currently on order. Nearly half of the fleet is about 13,000 TEU operating on long-term charters. As of the end of 2022, the average remaining lease period for the fleet was 7.7 years.
The composition of the customer base has also evolved from Cosco representing 40 per cent and Yang Ming 19 per cent. ONE is today the largest customer with nearly a quarter of Seaspan's fleet but Zim, MSC, Cosco, and Yang Ming each also have over 10 per cent shares. The five customers collectively control 80 per cent of the current fleet.
The current management will stay in place with the completion of the acquisition and Bing Chen, president and CEO of Atlas also becomes an investor in the company.
"Atlas has continued to develop its long-term strategic partnerships and differentiated business model to position the company for sustainable and quality growth," said Mr Chen.
"We believe this transaction with Poseidon is an exciting culmination of those efforts for our shareholders."