ContainersEurope

Global Ship Lease eyes merger and acquisition opportunities

London-based containership charter owner Global Ship Lease has appointed Evercore as its financial advisor to review strategic opportunities which includes the possibility of a corporate acquisition, a business combination or a partnership.

Ian Webber, chief executive officer of Global Ship Lease, commented: “Following the completion of the $360 million bond issue due 2022, which significantly extended the maturity of our principal debt financing, as well as arranging the associated secured term loan, both of which were achieved on favorable terms, we believe now is the right time to explore strategic alternatives to maximize shareholder value. With the refinancing complete, our financial flexibility secured for the longer term, and our quality portfolio of multi-year charters continuing to provide consistent cash flows, Global Ship Lease is well-positioned as one of few publicly listed containership leasing companies to acquire attractive portfolios of ships, attract growth capital or find a complementary merger partner. In addition, with increased confidence in the container shipping industry’s cyclical recovery, we will continue to focus on near-term opportunities to grow our fleet while we explore a broad range of strategic alternatives to enhance shareholder value.”

Global Ship Lease owns a fleet of 18 vessels, with 16 of them on charter to CMA CGM.

The French container line is the company’s largest shareholder.

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.
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