The shortsea and MPP shipping company ESL Shipping is pressing ahead with its plans for financial strengthening: an investor from Finland is stepping in and providing capital.
Like its sister shipping company AtoB@C, ESL is part of the Aspo Group, which has now announced the entry of OP Finland Infrastructure[ds_preview].
Depending on when approval is granted by the relevant competition and financial authorities, the transaction is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2024. OP will then invest a total of €30 million in ESL Shipping. In return, the investor will receive 15.38% of the shares in the shortsea shipping company.
This marks the start of a process that was announced last year and initiated in April of this year. In the program to “accelerate the green transition, three alternative measures are being evaluated, including the introduction of a new investment pool for fossil-free ships and a possible capital injection of a minority stake in ESL Shipping, as well as the sale of the shipping company’s two Supramax vessels.
“We are pleased to have found a partner in OP Finland Infrastructure LP to support Aspo and ESL Shipping in accelerating the green growth strategy. We see tremendous growth opportunities and want the company to play an active role in the ongoing sustainability transformation,” said Rolf Jansson, CEO of Aspo Group.
ESL considers further investor entries
Ossi Vasala from OP Finland Infrastructure LP emphasized that this is a “great investment opportunity to accelerate the green transformation of the carrier and its customers in Finland and around the Baltic Sea”.
ESL’s “green ambitions” include a newbuilding program. A total of seven ships are already under construction and the first ship in the series, “Electramar”, was successfully launched in June and is expected to be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2023. The second ship, Stellamar, was launched in October. Further investments in fleets and technologies are to follow, it was announced today. The entry of further investors is also being examined.
