Italian lender Banca Carige has reiterated its commitment to shipping after completing its disposal of non-performing loan exposure in conro group Ignazio Messina.
The bank has offloaded €324.3m ($384m) of shipping loans to non-performing loan restructuring company AMCO.
The rest is going to a new company, Newco Italian Ro.Ro. Italia. The outfit is controlled by liner giant Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC)'s Marinvest, with Messina holding 48%.
This gives the new company a 49% stake in the Italian shipping group.
"This sale is part of the more comprehensive Carige derisking operation which, together with the 2019 capital increase of €700m and the issue of the subordinated...loan of €200m, is an integral part of the capital strengthening operation of the bank," said Banca Carige chief executive Francesco Guido.
The deal lowers its non-performing loan exposure to 5.5%, the lender said.
And the bank added that it maintained a "firm will" to maintain a leading role in the shipping sector.
No competition issues
MSC was cleared to take over the stake last year by Italy's competition authority.
The authority said the move did not give the companies a dominant enough position in their markets to eliminate or reduce competition.
The deal came after more than two years of talks during which Banca Carige sought to restructure around €450m of distressed debt.
Messina, which is managed by family members Ignazio Messina, Stefano Messina and Andrea Gais, specialises in conro liner services connecting the Mediterranean with Africa and the Middle East.
It ran into financial trouble after placing orders between 2009 and 2011 for eight 2,900-teu conro newbuildings that were delivered between 2011 and 2015.
MSC is reportedly making an investment of about €25m for its shareholding in the company.
The transaction raises the prospect of Messina’s container volumes being consolidated onto MSC’s full container services, as well as the operation of joint liner services between the Mediterranean, Red Sea and Middle East.
