While one car carrier offering has just hit a dead end on the Oslo Bors, a rival is revving up to list.
Höegh Autoliners today announced its intention to list on Euronext Growth Oslo, days after Gram Car Carriers was forced to ditch its own IPO plans citing a lack of investor interest.
Höegh Autoliners is owned by Leif Höegh & Co (LHC) with 60.5%, A.P. Møller – Mærsk with 38.2%, and the company’s CEO, Andreas Enger, with 1.3%. The company has a fleet of 40 car carriers making it one of the largest vehicle transporters in the world.
Höegh’s offering will comprise a private placement of new shares expected to raise gross proceeds in the region of NOK1bn ($115m). Most of the net proceeds will go towards four newbuilds under construction in China.
Four cornerstone investors; LHC, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS, Intertrade Shipping and Global Value Investment Corp have undertaken to subscribe for shares for a total amount of approximately NOK425m, subject to certain conditions and for a price per share of up to NOK21.
The company said today it has also received significant anchor interest from several international shipping sector specialists as well as other local and international generalist investors.
Leif Høegh, Höegh Autoliners chair, commented: “We are very pleased to announce our intention to list Höegh Autoliners and open the next chapter in its history. By raising capital and listing the company, we will be able to accelerate investments and further strengthen our customer service and leading position in decarbonisation and cargo efficiency.”
Andreas Enger, Höegh Autoliners CEO, commented: “The global market in our sector is rapidly strengthening through increased volumes and decreasing global capacity. We have secured yard slots to build the first four ammonia ready multifuel vessel, making us the undisputed frontrunner in our industry’s path to a zero emissions future.”
