Zim Integrated Shipping Services is rumoured to have hired Merrill Lynch (part of Bank of America Corp) and Barclays to lead an initial public offering (IPO) in the US, reports say.
The Israel-based company plans to list its share by the first half of 2016, sources told Bloomberg.
“Zim has been contemplating going public and other financing options since 2007,” Maor Aharoni, a spokesman for the company, told Bloomberg. “This strategy has not changed. We have nothing to report at this time and don’t comment on rumors.”
In 2008, Zim filed a preliminary listing application that would have seen it launch a $500m IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, but the sale was postponed after Zim fell behind on bond repayments when shipping markets slumped that year. The company revived the plan in 2011 but again the IPO failed to launch.
In January 2014, Zim came to an agreement with its creditors that saw lenders take a 68% stake in the company.
