NASDAQ-listed Sino-Global Shipping America, best known for its ship agency business, is moving into dry bulk shipping, signing an agreement yesterday to buy a 75% stake in Shanghai-based Mandarine Ocean for $3.75m.
Mandarine Ocean was founded in 2013 by Shanghai-based Kelin Wu. Mandarine Ocean currently has long-term contracts to operate 14 bulk carriers, six of which are owned by Wu, with the majority being handysize and handymax size.
Lei Cao, CEO of Sino-Global, stated, “This is a milestone agreement for our company, which allows our business to expand when we have begun to see an increased level of economic activity now that challenges and delays created by the coronavirus have begun to wane in China. Trucking operations have resumed in China, which is leading to increased export cargo arriving at ports and ships are needed to handle the backlog of containers. We see this as an opportunity for Sino-Global and Mandarine Ocean to create a win-win scenario where we can utilize our relationships and expertise to grow their operations at an accelerated rate.”
