Norwegian ropax owner Color Group is following up cost-cutting measures with an attempt to raise more cash in the Oslo bond market.
The company has been hard hit by lockdowns earlier in the year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Color has tasked Arctic Securities, Danske Bank, DNB Markets, Nordea and SEB to arrange a series of fixed-income investor calls starting on Monday.
Subject to market conditions, a Norwegian bond will follow.
In contrast to recent conventional bond deals in Oslo, this potential issue is described as a perpetual hybrid callable bond, which has no expiry date and does not require the shipowner to repay the principal.
In theory, issuers pay coupons forever, but the bondholders do not have a vote attached to the debt.
The first call date is 4.25 years after the date of issue.
Proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes.
Backing from president
Color Group, the owner of Color Line, did not give a target amount, but said companies controlled by principal and president Olav Nils Sunde have subscribed for, and may be allocated, up to NOK 100m ($11.2m) of the issue.
In April, the company tapped an existing bond issue for $44m and in June it revealed it will hold on to NOK 200m of cash through a new debt freeze.
The liquidity will be retained by implementing a six-month standstill deal on instalment payments with banks.
Fred Olsen also meeting investors
Norwegian shipping group Fred Olsen's holding company Bonheur also said it was arranging meetings with investors this week, with a view to launching a green bond with a five-year maturity.
The group's four cruiseships have been laid up in Scotland for months after the Covid-19 pandemic effectively shut down the cruise industry.
Earlier this summer, Fred Olsen Windcarrier entered into two new long-term eco financing deals for its three wind turbine installation ships.
The deal involves the establishment of a green loan framework, through which class society DNV GL will assess eligibility for new investment that will also be financed under sustainable loan criteria.
Norwegian lenders DNB Bank and SpareBank 1 SR-Bank are providing total of €75m ($85m) for the 132-loa Brave Tern (built 2012) and Bold Tern (built 2013) over six years.
Bond business being done
Investors in Oslo pumped another $122m into shipping bonds last week as Klaveness Combination Carriers (KCC) and Navigator Holdings joined the list of successful issuers.
KCC has added NOK 200m to its liquidity by tapping a bond issue it sold in January.
Meanwhile, US-listed LPG carrier owner Navigator said it had sold $100m of bonds.
The company said the issue was "significantly oversubscribed".
Last month, car carrier giant Wallenius Wilhelmsen banked $224m after selling a bond.
And Norwegian shipping investment company Kistefos raised $114m in new bonds, which it will use to refinance existing debt and bolster working capital.
Color Group said last week it needs to lay off 300 full-time workers after suffering losses during lockdown.
The company is launching a "comprehensive and lasting cost-cutting programme" to knock NOK 250m off its costs from 2021.
