‘Ships for shares’ deals set to boost shipping M&A activity
‘Let’s say you’ve got a fleet of ships you built up as a private equity investor, how do you exit from that? The IPO markets are closed, and if you do a private sale, there are not many players who have the capital or the access to bank finance to buy for cash, so your options are fairly limited,’ says Rob Wilkins of Reed Smith
So-called ‘ships for shares’ deals involve handing over vessels to a listed company instead of going for an initial public offering, thereby offering an exit, according to a lawyer specialising in such transactions