One of the world’s largest shipmanagers is changing hands again. European investment fund manager STAR Capital and Belgian holding company Ackermans & van Haaren (AvH) are leading a consortium buying V.Group from Advent International, a private equity firm that bought the manager in late 2016 from OMERS Private Equity.
“V.Group is active in a global and fragmented market and is well-positioned to benefit from the global and structural trend of increased outsourcing of technical services and crew management within the shipping industry, driven amongst others by increased regulatory and technical complexity,” stated a release from AvH.
The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals. Upon closing, which is expected to take place in the second half of 2024, AvH will hold 33.3% of V.Group for an equity investment of $150m excluding acquisition debt financing.
Piet Dejonghe, co-CEO of AvH, commented: “The investment fits well with our criteria to invest in global market leaders with long-term growth potential, operating in markets with clear entry barriers driven by the importance of scale and global reach and led by strong management teams.”
Among AvH’s other group businesses is DEME, one of the largest dredging companies in the world.
Paul Gough, managing partner of STAR, commented: “The shipping industry is one we know well following successful investments in Blohm+Voss and MPC Container Ships. We firmly believe V.Group has all the elements that we look for in an investment: compelling growth drivers based on the global and structural trend towards increased outsourcing combined with increased regulatory and technical complexity.”
