Evercore senior managing director Mark Friedman describes some of his firm’s major advisory deals from 2018:
Capital Product Partners’ spin-off/combination with Diamond S Shipping: “I think it's one of the most creative M&A deals done in the industry. For Diamond S, it provides an efficient entry to the capital markets — and does so in a way that enhances their scale. For Capital, it provides a logical division of their assets and a clear enhancement of the value of the units on a sum-of-the-parts basis. It reshapes the MLP [master limited partnership] with a more appropriate and uniform asset base [containerships] and steadier cash-flow characteristics to support its dividend policy.”
Global Ship Lease combination with Poseidon Containers Holdings: “Global Ship Lease sought to increase both their asset base and enhance their commercial platform and management team. For Poseidon Containers, it was an efficient way to access a public listing and provide potential liquidity for their shareholders.”
Dorian LPG in its defence against BW LPG's hostile takeover: “For Dorian, our focus was to help ensure that if there was consolidation between the parties, that proper value needed to be accorded to the Dorian shareholders. Ultimately, BW dropped its proposal and its nominated slate of directors.”
International Seaways on purchase of six VLCCs from Euronav related to the Gener8 Maritime merger: “It was a smart transaction for both Euronav and International Seaways. Euronav bought the substantial majority of the overall Gener8 assets and sought to derisk the transaction by divesting selected assets. Seaways, which is a partner of Euronav in Tankers International, was the logical buyer to keep the VLCCs in the pool. The price paid by Seaways was quite attractive from a historical perspective.”
Danaos Corp in its financial restructuring: “The restructuring was notable and relatively unique in that the banks equitised more than $600m in debt. However, the Danaos shareholders were able to retain 60% of the pro-forma ownership of the company. This recognises the value of management and the charters that remain with the company.”
Read the full interview with Friedman here
