Minsheng Financial Leasing snaps up five PIL boxships
Chinese financial leasing house Minsheng Financial Leasing has acquired five boxships from Singapore’s Pacific International Lines (PIL) in an en bloc deal worth $88.9m, according to broking sources.
The five vessels, due to be time chartered back to the Teo family-led PIL, are the 2013-built 4,335 teu Kota Lihat, the 2008-built 4,250 teu Kota Lawa, the 2006-built 3,081 te Kota Karim, the 2013-built 2,824 teu Kota Gabung, and the 2012-built 2,824 teu Kota Gaya.
Minsheng has been linked to a series of acquisitions of late, including the acquisition of VLCCs DS Vision and DS Venture this month for $112m and the snapping up of 2010-built kamsarmax bulker Sky Jade from Mitsubishi Corporation.
VesselsValue data shows Minsheng Financial Leasing currently controls a fleet of 68 vessels.
The deal will help PIL restore its battered balance sheet. The company reported a net loss of $141.2m for the first half of this year, compared to net profit of $26.4m during the same period of last year.