EuropeGas

Avance Gas hopeful for Aurora LPG deadline day deal

With the offer period made by Avance Gas to takeover fellow Norwegian LPG player Aurora LPG set to expire today, Christian Andersen, president of Avance Gas, has told Splash of his plans if shareholders agree to his deal. Andersen said he is after Aurora’s fleet, and would not rule out a partnership with rival BW LPG, which has built up a 15% stake in Aurora in recent weeks.

“Our intention is to buy the ships, we’re not looking for shares,” Andersen said. Aurora’s fleet is made up of three VLGCs and another six on order.

Senior management at Aurora has urged shareholders to veto the takeover offer, suggesting they’d get more money from liquidating Aurora than accepting the Avance offer price.

“Aurora LPG is currently not a cash generating company, with much of their fleet yet to arrive. We expect them to be generating cash by late in the second quarter,” Andersen said.

Andersen also said that he would not rule out a joint venture or partnership with BW LPG, saying that after today’s outcome, he likely will sit down with the other large shareholders to discuss a strategy going forward.

When asked if Avance will get over the line today, Andersen said: “We can’t possibly comment on that at the moment, but we hope it will be successful.”

Grant Rowles

Grant spent nine years at Informa Group based in London, Sydney, Hong Kong and Singapore. He gained strong management experience in publishing, conferences and awards schemes in the shipping and legal areas, working on a number of titles including Lloyd's List. In 2009 Grant joined Seatrade responsible for the commercial development of Seatrade’s Asia products. In 2012, with Sam Chambers, he co-founded Asia Shipping Media.
Back to top button