A fund controlled by Ebridge Capital, a Shanghai-based ship finance player, has emerged behind a big-ticket transaction for the Angelicoussis Shipping Group’s mini-capesize fleet.

TradeWinds reported earlier this month that Angelicoussis company Maran Dry Management had agreed to sell at least seven of its eight vessels in that class to unidentified Chinese interests for about $200m.

In an email to TradeWinds on Tuesday, managers at Ebridge Capital confirmed their company has bought the entire fleet. They declined to comment on the price, citing confidentiality clauses.

The vessels concerned are the 114,000-dwt Maran Dawn, Maran Sky, Maran Sun, Maran Ocean (all built 2011), Maran Aspiration (built 2012), Maran Zenith (built 2013), as well as the Maran Progress and Maran Wisdom (both built 2014).

Some brokers had described the deal as a refinancing exercise but this is not correct, TradeWinds is told.

The new owner of the vessels is the Ebridge Shipping fund, which is already in talks to arrange their employment with Chinese cargo owners — both state-owned and private ones.

Keen to expand

Ebridge Capital was established in 2017 as a ship financing and advisory service company.

One of its first jobs was to manage the restructuring of Deqin — a task Ebridge described in a corporate presentation as the largest bankruptcy and reorganisation project of a coastal shipping company in China.

Alongside offering advisory and financing services in mergers and acquisitions deals and other types of corporate action, Ebridge has directly invested in dry bulk, LPG and offshore assets.

According to its presentation, Ebridge invests directly in assets to “capture long/short opportunities” that arise in rapidly changing and cyclical sectors, such as shipping and the energy transition.

Its acquisition of Maran’s mini-capesize fleet comes as Ebridge ambitiously sets its sights on expansion — both in terms of geography outside China, as well as in terms of scope into new kinds of business.

According to its website, the company has widened its Shanghai footprint with offices in Zhoushan and in Athens. Its activity has grown to include equity, distressed assets, as well as mezzanine and tiered investments.

Mini-capesize deals are very rare, making it difficult to set price benchmarks for them.

Also known as babycapes, vessels of that size represent a particular type of ship that specialises in certain kinds of cargo, particularly in the Pacific and Atlantic minerals trades.