ESL Shipping Seals Acquisition of AtoB@C Shipping

Finnish dry bulk shipping company ESL Shipping has completed the acquisition of all the outstanding shares of AtoB@C Shipping AB and AtoB@C Holding AB, announced at the end of June.

Image Courtesy: ESL Shipping

As a result, the company expects its net sales to double from EUR 80 million to approximately EUR 160 million. Based on the calculations using figures from 2017, the cargo volume carried is expected to increase from approximately 11-12 million tonnes to approximately 16-17 million tonnes.

As disclosed earlier, the value of the acquired enterprise is EUR 30 million (USD 34.9 million). The  purchase was financed by Aspo’s existing financing reserves, and new shares issued by Aspo Plc, the owner of ESL Shipping.

AtoB@C operates 30 vessels in size of 4,000-5,000 tonnes. The company owns six dry cargo vessels in full, and has a share of 49% of two vessels. The other 22 vessels are time-chartered.

The combination of vessels will bring ESL Shipping’s fleet to a total of 50 ships, including new LNG-powered ships, with a deadweight capacity of 468,000 tonnes compared to the previous 331,000 tonnes.

“Together we form a strong Nordic shipping company that is customer-driven. It has strong shoulders to build future success determinedly,” Mikki Koskinen, Managing Director of ESL Shipping, commented.

” The acquisition will shift ESL Shipping to a new size class and put it in a good position to improve operational efficiency and overall profitability of the shipping company,” says Aki Ojanen, CEO of Aspo Plc and Chairman of the Board of Directors of ESL Shipping, said.