Shipping investor Darren Maupin has become the biggest shareholder in giant Greek shipowner Navios Maritime Partners.
Ireland and US-based private equity funds under Maupin’s Pilgrim Global umbrella have increased their combined holding in the US-listed group to 16% from 10.2% previously, a securities filing revealed.
The stake is worth $139m based on a market cap of $869m in New York.
The stock closed down 0.28% at $28.78 on Wednesday.
In Navios Maritime’s last shareholder update, Navios Maritime Holdings had a 10.5% stake in Navios Maritime, with chief executive Angeliki Frangou holding 5.1%.
In October, Navios Holdings announced a definitive merger agreement under which Frangou would acquire the outfit for $2.28 per share in cash. The deal is subject to a shareholder vote expected to happen no later than the first quarter.
Analysts have said Frangou’s Navios Maritime stake is set to balloon to 15.6% as a result. This level was confirmed by a filing on Thursday.
The filing shows Pilgrim Global’s shares are owned by funds based in Dublin and Reno, Nevada.
TradeWinds reported in 2021 that Pilgrim Global had come to shipping only five years previously.
By 2021, it had almost half of its money in the industry — in crude carriers, small container ships and dry bulk.
Wide shipping interests
The fund was started by Fidelity Investments veteran Maupin in 2011 with $10m to invest.
Three years ago, it had more than $250m under management, in addition to separate investments by Maupin’s Pelerin Global.
Maupin said the cash behind his portfolio had been built up by word of mouth without marketing, largely from “the more entrepreneurial family offices”.
From 1998 to 2007 at Fidelity, Maupin already had some involvement in tanker owner recapitalisations.
Pilgrim Global started its shipping investment campaign in 2016 with an involvement in the recapitalisation of Genco Shipping & Trading. Since then, it has proceeded briskly across all the main asset classes.
It also bought into Eagle Bulk Shipping, and Maupin was the driving force behind setting up MPC Container Ships.
Maupin also co-founded his own dry bulk shipowner, Anglo International Shipping, because there were no suitable publicly listed vehicles for his chosen investment in panamax and larger tonnage.
