Seaspan to Form New Holding Company, Acquire APR

Hong Kong-based containership operator Seaspan Corporation has announced a reorganization to create a new holding company, Atlas Corp. which will become the new parent company of Seaspan.

As explained, the proposed reorganization is intended to advance strategic capital allocation initiatives and provide operational transparency.

Specifically, the reorganization will be implemented through the merger of Seaspan and an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary, with Seaspan continuing as the surviving corporation and a direct, wholly-owned subsidiary of Atlas.

“The formation of Atlas as a global asset manager enables diversification of capital to hard-asset intensive industries and beyond, which we expect will yield strong through cycle returns,” Ryan Courson, Chief Financial Officer of Seaspan commented.

In conjunction with the reorganization, Seaspan also said that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire APR Energy Limited, a company specializing in fast-track, mobile power solutions.

“We see ample opportunities for attractive capital deployment in maritime in 2020 as demonstrated by our recent acquisitions of over USD 400 million of containership assets, and we are excited about the prospect of allocating capital towards the global energy platform of APR,” Courson added.

Under the agreement, Atlas will acquire APR in an all-stock transaction valued at USD 750 million including the assumption of debt, for an expected equity value at closing of about USD 425 million. Atlas shares will be issued to the sellers in the proposed acquisition at USD 11.10 per share.

“The proposed acquisition is a transformative transaction on our journey as professional asset managers. We are bringing together two leading, integrated platforms, in two industries in which we have long-term confidence – maritime and energy,” David Sokol, Chairman of Seaspan’s Board of Directors, commented.

Seaspan’s fleet consists of 119 containerships, including seven vessels the company has agreed to purchase, which have not yet been delivered, representing a total capacity of more than 975,000 TEU.

Seaspan’s current operating fleet of 112 vessels has an average age of approximately seven years and an average remaining lease period of approximately four years, on a TEU-weighted basis.