V.Group wants to play a leading role in the consolidation of the German shipmanagement market after sweeping up Norddeutsche Reederei H Schuldt.
The world’s largest third-party manager confirmed the long-awaited deal yesterday, securing a company with over 40 ships under management.
V.Group staff in Hamburg will move to the Norddeutsche Reederei offices, with the takeover also initiating the creation of a centre of excellence for the management of global container fleets
A spokesperson for V.Group says it sees a deep talent pool in Germany that can be leveraged to address the needs of the global fleet.
“Germany also remains a large ship owning market, and we believe there is demand from German owners and lenders for a high quality independent third-party manager that is not associated with shipowning and legacy KG fleets,” a statement provided in response to questions from TradeWinds explained.
“Finally, we believe there is a significant opportunity to consolidate third-party management in the German market, which V,Group is well placed to lead.
“V.Group sees significant further opportunity for growth in the German market and will continue to invest to support its growth plans.”
Thirty-five of the ships in the managed fleet were owned by Norddeutsche Vermogen Group and are being transferred to an entity called Northern Shipping Holding. Blue Net Chartering will handle operations.
The statement explains V.Group’s private equity backer Advent, which has taken a 66% stake in Norddeutsche Reederei, has no plans to invest in shipowning.
“Advent is committed to supporting V.Group in its ambition to create the world’s leading blue chip marine support services provider,” it added.
Norddeutsche Reederei has a 150-year history and V.Group believes the deal offers a foundation to grow in Germany.
“The transaction represents a major step in delivering consolidation of commercial and technical management in the container segment in Germany, underpinning V.Group’s ambition to drive the transformation of the industry and to be the leading global provider of marine support services,” V.Group said.
