Japan’s Ocean Network Express (ONE) has joined a coalition of controlling shareholders in New York-listed Atlas Corporation to make a buyout offer for the asset manager, whose assets include Seaspan, the world’s largest containership leasing company.
The buyout consortium, which calls itself Poseidon Acquisition Corp, sees ONE join forces with Atlas chairman David Sokol, the Washington family and subsidiaries of Fairfax Financial Holdings in a bid to take Atlas private.
Fairfax, the Washington family, and Sokol already control approximately 68% of the fully-diluted outstanding common shares of Atlas.
ONE is controlled by Japan’s three largest shipping lines – Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL), Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line).
“The Consortium believes that the proposal will allow Atlas to focus on the long-term business growth, not on short-term business results, as a strategic partner to support its future growth,” K Line stated in a release.
Interesting as COSCO is one of, if not its biggest customer.
Right nw ONE is the biggest customer… COSCO is not even 3rd
As a rule, shipowners go private at the bottom of recessions, not at the top of booms. But Seaspan earns from lease payments, not from freights, and it may be that ONE’s earnings are burning a hole in its pocket, in which case Atlas may look under valued.