Idan Ofer has sealed the takeover of the BW Group’s chemical tanker fleet, sources say.
The deal, placed at around $350m, marks Ofer’s largest such transaction in the tanker market in half a decade.
TradeWinds reported in November Ofer’s Eastern Pacific had secured the vessels on subjects at a time the chemical tanker market was shaping for a recovery.
Now market sources say pen has met paper on a firm deal, with the vessels set to join the commercial platform, Ace Quantum Chemical Tankers.
The pool already operates 22 ships in the 19,000-dwt range, largely in the Atlantic. The addition of the 13 vessels from BW will help expand its geographical coverage, sources note.
Eastern Pacific’s last tanker fleet purchase came in the summer of 2014, with a six-ship swoop.
It was reported at the time to have paid around $210m for the Blenheim aframax tankers with the ships delivering into a cyclical upswing in the freight market.
It has since explored further consolidation in the tanker space, with an investment in Gener8 Maritime prior to its sale to Euronav, among its better known moves.
The BW deal continues a busy period for Eastern Pacific, which invested in both container ship and tanker newbuildings in 2018.
For BW the sale makes sense given its activity in other areas of the tanker sector.
It sealed the takeover of product carrier owner Hafnia Tankers in December, with the transaction paving the way for a listing on a senior exchange.
BW is also the largest shareholder in DHT Holdings, the VLCC owner listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
The chemical tanker market, as well as the wider tanker space, has seen significant consolidation in the past year.
Yesterday MOL announced the takeover of Nordic Tankers of Denmark.
