Belships has entered into an agreement to divest its 100 per cent shareholding in Belships Management (Singapore) Pte Ltd., a technical and crew management company established in 1983, which currently manages dry bulk vessels for Belships ASA and other international clients. The shares have been acquired by a company in V.Group. An owned office lease in Singapore is in process of being sold, and the proceeds will be received by Belships ASA.
Closing of the transaction was completed on 30th June 2023, and a book gain of USD 8.5m will be recorded in Q2 2023. Net cash proceeds will be about USD 12.5m and includes deferred payment for the office.
Furthermore, Belships has entered into a strategic partnership with V.Group for Belships' fleet and ship management business. Following the acquisition by V.Group, Belships Management (Singapore) will continue to be the sole provider of ship management services to Belships ASA, leveraging V.Group's unique and fully scalable ship management platform. The Belships Management (Singapore) organisation will be integrated into V.Group, forming an industry-leading centre of expertise for dry bulk operations. This partnership was formalised on 30th June 2023.
"This transaction offers immediate value to our shareholders and ensures that our fleet will continue to be maintained to the highest standards. Partnering with V.Group will also accelerate our digitalisation and decarbonisation capabilities, and create the flexibility to scale our fleet.", said Lars Christian Skarsgård, CEO, Belships ASA.
Including four newbuildings to be delivered between 2024-2026, the Belships fleet consists of 34x modern Supra/Ultramax bulk carriers. Furthermore, Belships ASA owns 50.1 per cent of the Lighthouse Navigation Group, a dry bulk operating company with offices in Bangkok, Oslo, Singapore and Melbourne.
For further information, please contact Lars Christian Skarsgård, CEO, Belships ASA, phone +47 977 68 061 or e-mail LCS@belships.no
This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.
