Low-key investor Shanghai Platinum Asset Management has won control of bankrupt chemical tanker owner Dongguan Fenghai Shipping, according to press reports.
The CNY 1.3bn ($187m) acquisition has seen the distressed asset fund manager beat out three better-known contenders, including an investment fund affiliated with giant China Cosco Shipping.
TradeWinds broke the news in May 2018 that financial creditors had lost patience with the struggling company. At the time, it had asked a number of Chinese tanker operators about stepping in to manage the Fenghai fleet pending a forced sale.
In September 2018, the company went into liquidation under orders of the Dongguan City People's Court in southern Guangdong province.
Finance and shipbroking sources say Shanghai Platinum has a very low profile, but reports by Shanghai-based maritime news platform ship.sh said the distressed asset player is run by former ship-finance staff from Far East Financial Leasing. The company is also connected to an earlier acquisition of assets of bankrupt bulker operator Shantou Diyuan Maritime Transport.
A Fenghai manager declined to comment on the development. He acknowledged this week's Chinese press reports but said the bankruptcy court had not released information yet.
However, documents available on China's National Bankruptcy Information Platform provide information that an end of the reorganisation was already in sight by the end of 2019.
The final bidding included Dongguan Asset Management, a consortium of Shanghai Easy Bridge Supply Chain Management and Cosco Cinda Investment Management; another consortium of Shanghai Platinum and Ningbo Hejiang Investment Partnership; and Guangzhou CSSC Shipping Co Ltd.
The Guangzhou CSSC Shipping bid was supported by the greatest number of creditors. However, Shanghai Platinum consortium won out with the approval of holders that owned a higher percentage of the debt.
Results of a creditors' committee meeting set for 3 January were not publicly available before TradeWinds went to press.
Other court documents refer to a total of 11 laid-up vessels whose status remained unresolved. The Fenghai official declined to comment on enquiries about fleet, staff and management changes in the wake of a reorganisation.
Fenghai was one of China's largest domestic chemical tanker players but had been plagued by operational issues, including a fatal ship explosion before its financial collapse. From a Singapore commercial base, the company also operated an international trading clean product and chemical parcel tanker fleet of vessels up to 27,000 dwt.
