Resurgent offshore shipping markets have prompted Norwegian investor Oystein Stray Spetalen to plot a spin-off of his platform supply vessel interests.
The tycoon’s PSV fleet is owned by his Oslo-listed investment vehicle SD Standard ETC.
The Cyprus-based company said a private placement of shares is now being considered for the subsidiary Standard Supply, followed by a listing on Oslo’s Euronext Growth board.
The move is being plotted with some powerful investor friends to “finance further growth within the offshore support vessel segment”, SD Standard ETC said.
Standard Supply owns two large PSVs, plus a 28.1% stake in five midsize units.
Five of the seven ships are operating in the spot market.
The fleet has a pre-money equity value of NOK 448m ($47m).
“We are experiencing solid interest for our high-quality PSV assets, with low overhead costs and no debt. We see strong signs of an unprecedented market upturn and our vessels are positioned to fully capture the soaring day rates,” said the investment company’s chairman, Martin Nes.
He believes that by strengthening Standard Supply’s financial profile, teaming with top-tier investors and creating a listed vehicle, the company has a strong platform for leveraging the growth and expansion opportunities in the upturn cycle for oil service vessels.
The equity placement will be worth NOK 150m, a filing reveals.
This will fund potential acquisitions against a background of rising rates and asset values.
Clarksons Platou Securities will manage the issue.
The placement amount is fully covered and guaranteed through a syndicate of cornerstone investors — shipowner Arne Blystad’s Songa Capital, bulker owner Harald Moraeus-Hanssen’s Uthalden and New York’s Coltrane Asset Management, which have together subscribed for NOK 108.6m.
A guarantee consortium led by Nes’ Ferncliff TIH has guaranteed to buy the rest.
The stock will list at first on the over-the-counter market in Oslo, with an application made to join the Growth board. This should take place in July.
