The Finnish MPP shipping company ESL Shipping is set to be listed on the stock exchange as an independent company in the near future. The board of directors of the parent company, Aspo, has approved the spin-off.
The plan is to transform ESL into a new, publicly listed company. The shipping company is therefore set to be listed on Nasdaq Helsinki shortly. Aspo must still approve the plan at the extraordinary general meeting, which will take place in December. As ESL has announced, all business operations and services are to continue as usual.
Aspo holds a 78.6% stake in ESL Shipping; the company’s shareholders are set to receive one ESL share for every Aspo share they hold. Lighthouse HoldCo, which owns the remaining 21.4%, has also approved the spin-off. Its shareholders will likewise receive shares in ESL. According to reports, Mikki Koskinen (currently Managing Director at ESL) is being considered as the new CEO of the new company. Rolf Jansson, CEO of Aspo, is set to become a member of the board. ESL Shipping is the leading dry bulk carrier in the Baltic Sea region. Its fleet of around 40 vessels operates primarily in Northern Europe and the Baltic States.
“Our focus remains on serving our customers and ensuring reliable deliveries even under difficult conditions,” the company stated. “Together with our experts on land and at sea, ESL Shipping remains committed to playing a pioneering role in sustainability, the further development of services and growth in partnership with our customers – particularly in the Baltic Sea region.”
ESL had only recently announced that it was withdrawing its sister brand Atob@c (pronounced “A to B at Sea”) from the market. In future, the vessels will operate uniformly under the name ESL Shipping. Atob@c was founded in 2000 as a joint venture between the Leer-based shipping company Briese and the Swedish businessman Anders Nilsson.
