Philippines owner Chelsea Logistics Corp (CLC) has denied a takeover deal is in place for compatriot Southwest Maritime Corp.
The Dennis Uy-controlled company was responding to a report in the Daily Inquirer that claimed CLC had agreed to buy Southwest from owner Arben Santos.
"The company has not executed any agreement with Southwest Maritime Corp or of its shareholders for its acquisition," it said.
A deal would give the group at least two more ro-ros.
CLC carried out a $116m IPO last July, pledging to expand the fleet with tankers and passengerships.
The first fruit of this was a deal to take over Batangas-based Starlite Ferries. It also ordered up to four ro-paxes in Japan.
Starlite was listed with 15 ships, of which five were new ro-paxes built in Japan in 2016 and 2017.
The CLC group owns tankers and ferries through Chelsea Shipping, Trans Asia Shipping and 2Go.
