MPC Container Ships launches with $100m aimed at the feeder market
Germany has a new niche boxship investor. MPC Capital has initiated an investment company with a focus on small-size container ships between 1,000 and 3,000 teu. Yesterday the newly formed MPC Container Ships raised $100m in equity in a private placement towards international institutional investors and family offices in the Norwegian capital market.
“Based on the current pipeline exceeding 100 vessels, capital proceeds are expected to be fully deployed within 2017. An initial fleet of attractive assets has already been secured,” MPC Capital said in a release today.
MPC Capital’s subsidiaries, Ahrenkiel Steamship and Contchart, are offering technical and commercial management services to the fleet.
MPC maintained that the first signs of a recovery are currently being seen in the container shipping market, with freight rates above 2016 levels and charter rates trending up in the first quarter of 2017.
Ulf Holländer, CEO of MPC Capital, commented: “The transaction marks a further milestone in the history of the MPC Group. It shows our vital competence to structure innovative deals in the shipping business. And it underpins our ability to identify attractive investment opportunities in niche sectors that are ahead of markets and to connect investors to this strategy.”
The shares of MPC Container Ships initially will be registered on the Norwegian OTC list. It is intended to list the shares on a stock exchange later this year.
