Norwegian bulker operator Belships has announced that it has received a voluntary cash offer from Consensio, a fully-owned subsidiary of Tidships, to acquire all outstanding shares of the company for NOK257.7m ($32m). The offer price is around 10% above the current price for Belships shares on the Oslo Børs.
Consensio already owns around 10.72% of Belships and it plans to merge the activities of Tidships and its affiliates in the handymax and supramax segments with Belships and continue the current listing of Belships on Oslo Børs.
The offer will expire if Consensio has not publicly announced completion of the deal by September 20.
Tidships is controlled by Caroline Figenschou Tidemand (pictured), CEO of shipbroking firm Lorentzen & Stemoco, and Kristin Tidemand Eckhoff, who is a director at Eastern Bulk. It mainly operates in the supramax and ultramax segment and today owns six and operates around 30 bulkers.
The majority shareholder of Belships is another Tidemand family company, Sverre Tidemand’s Sonata, and currently operates a fleet of six bulkers with one newbuilding set to be delivered this year.
Consensio has left the door open for Sonata to continue as a shareholder in Belships with a minority holding.
