Zeaborn Takes Over CPO Tankers

Germany-based shipping company Zeaborn Group has signed an agreement to acquire 100 percent of the shares in Claus-Peter Offen Tankschiffreederei (CPO Tankers), the tanker management subsidiary of Offen Group.

The transaction partners signed the relevant contracts on April 29, 2019, agreeing to keep the key financial data confidential.

As informed, the completion of the transaction is subject to antitrust clearance.

With the takeover of CPO Tankers, Zeaborn said it stays on track concerning its strategy to further consolidate the shipping industry and expanding its services as an integrated and globally active shipping company.

Specifically, the acquisition enables Zeaborn Ship Management to expand its service portfolio to the wet market for oil and product tankers.

“CPO Tankers, the management and the employees are a great fit for our organization, enabling us to expand our service portfolio with a first-class tanker management,” Ove Meyer and Jan-Hendrik Többe, the Zeaborn Group’s Managing Partners, commented.

For Offen Group, the divestment of its tanker ship management business is in line with its future strategic focus on being an owner/manager of Post-Panamax container vessels.

„We, as Offen Group, want to grow our … position as owner/manager of Post-Panamax container vessels through significant investments in this sector. Pure ship management services in tank or bulk are no longer in our focus,” Claus-Peter Offen, CPO Group’s Managing Owner, explained.

The new acquisition comes two weeks after Zeaborn signed an agreement to take the remaining ownership interests in shipping joint venture Zeamarine. Zeaborn took a 25 percent stake in Zeamarine held by New York-based investment firm New Mountain Capital.

Established in 2013, Zeaborn is an integrated shipping company providing services along the entire value-added chain. Zeaborn Shipping is the holding company for the global ship management activities of the group. Under the brand Zeaborn Ship Management, the company offers the full range of ship management activities.

Founded in 1971, Offen Group is one of largest charter owners of Post-Panamax containerships. With close to 500,000 TEU under management, the group operates out of its head office in Hamburg.