Norwegian shipowner Morits Skaugen junior's business is about to make a new start. The reshaped company, which was listed in Oslo in 1990, will be back under private ownership, with the 62-year-old holding a smaller slice.
A new firm, Norgas Carriers, will take over the activities of IM Skaugen and its fleet of seven gas carriers.
Fellow Norwegian Christen Sveaas is injecting $3m in fresh equity via his Kistefos vehicle and the Skaugen family could see its stake reduced to less than 10% from 36%.
Oslo-based IM Skaugen has negative equity and has not yet reported results for 2017.
A bondholders and extraordinary shareholders meeting has been called for this month, at which the refinancing plan is likely to win support.
Vital contract
The key question for the company is whether a 10-year contract for LNG transport will be finalised.
In January last year, IM Skaugen announced the $420m deal to employ three of its ships with LNG capacity. However, a pact with Endeavor Energy to serve the Ghana 1000 power project at Aboadze has dragged on. Shipping observers in Oslo say the future of the company depends on this contract.
Further pressure has come as Skaugen's operated fleet of LPG carriers was halved last year after partner Teekay pulled its vessels out of a pooling agreement.
For IM Skaugen, the decline has been dramatic. In the 1980s, it expanded enormously, under the leadership of Morits Skaugen senior, notably with the purchase of another tradition-rich Norwegian company, Kosmos, in 1988.
Morits Skaugen senior and his brother split the company in the 1980s, when it had a value of more than NOK 3bn ($350m).
Younger generation
The younger generation took over in 1992, with a highly diversified fleet of 72 ships. Morits Skaugen Jnr and his three sisters divided the company three ways into NOK 1.6bn stakes.
The market collapse in the 1990s with Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait, and the subsequent Gulf War hit the company hard.
TradeWinds asked Morits Skaugen Jnr for his perspective on the developments at IM Skaugen, but he declined to give an interview.
"It is always nice to have interest," he said, "but in this case I cannot see why someone has the slightest interest of my viewpoints and my perspective.
"Furthermore, there are many competent and experienced persons who say that persons like me in my position, and the situation as it is, should not say anything to anyone because it can and will be misunderstood."
