The Korean shipping company HMM has been selected as the preferred bidder for the sale of a majority stake in SK Shipping.
The due diligence process is scheduled to begin by the middle of next month. The seller of the shares is the private equity firm Hahn & Co. However, the planned deal still faces a major hurdle.
This is because when HMM sold its LNG division to IMM Private Equity in 2014, a 15-year non-compete clause was agreed. HMM had therefore tried unsuccessfully to buy back the old LNG division from IMM.
The price difference between what HMM is reportedly offering for SK Shipping and what Hahn & Co is seeking suggests that HMM would forgo the LNG tankers for the time being. Local media report that HMM is reportedly offering around $1.4 billion to acquire a 71.43% stake. Hahn, on the other hand, has set the price at around twice as high.
SK Shipping has a fleet of 62 vessels, comprising 14 LNG carriers, 14 LPG carriers, 20 crude oil tankers, six product tankers and seven bulkers.
Last September, HMM presented its expansion plans up to the end of the decade. According to these plans, the shipping company intends to invest a total of almost 17.5 billion dollars in its fleet. In addition to the container ships, this also includes the tanker and bulker segments, which are to grow from 36 ships to 110 ships with a carrying capacity of 12.56 million tdw.
