Norway's Stolt-Nielsen may be getting nearer to pulling the trigger on an initial public offering of Stolt Tankers.
But chief executive Niels Stolt-Nielsen cautioned shareholders and analysts that the group does not need to carry out a spin-off.
Speaking on a conference call, he said Stolt Tankers president Lucas Vos had come on board and built up a team, "and we are basically ready to go for an IPO".
But he added: "It needs to be under the right market conditions. And we don't have to do it. So yes, we'll do an IPO of Stolt Tankers ... at the right time.
"I am quite bullish about the situation in the chemical tanker segment going forward. So hopefully, that opportunity will arise sooner rather than later."
Acquisitions or partnerships?
Stolt Tankers joined forces with John T Essberger of Germany last year to form E&S Tankers, which has a fleet of 48 chemical tankers.
The chief executive was asked whether future expansion will mostly be through joint ventures.
He responded by saying the main reason for considering an IPO of Stolt Tankers is to make the Netherlands-based operation a stand-alone company, which would make it easier to explore opportunities for joint ventures, acquisitions and mergers.
"So it won't mostly be joint ventures. It will be acquisitions," he said.
Consolidation needed
"We are interested in seeing if we can further consolidate this industry. So that was a big part of the reason of doing [an] IPO of Stolt Tankers ... so that we are in a position to ... use cash and shares in an acquisition, but also in a merger."
The group has been working on separating out Stolt Tankers and cleaning up the corporate structure since taking over Jo Tankers for $575m in 2016.
In February this year, Stolt Tankers brought in experienced former Shell executive Emile Hoekstra as its first chief financial officer to move forward its plans for the IPO.
Stolt Tankers operates a fleet of 152 parcel tankers.
Are shares a 'value trap?'
Asked by a shareholder about investment bank DNB Markets describing the stock as a "value trap", the chief executive admitted the share price has been "topping off" at NOK 130 ($15) of late, but added: "We haven't had a good shipping market for many years.
"And I would expect that once we start seeing an improvement in the shipping market, I do believe that will be very quickly reflected in the market."
Stolt-Nielsen told the call there are "so many underlying things" in the company that are of value but that are not reflected in the share price, such as Stolt Sea Farm (SSF).
An IPO for the fish farming business was explored earlier this year, he said, but the market was crowded with bigger deals.
The company will continue to explore options, he added.
"I think, as we have said all along, we don't need to do an IPO of SSF. We don't need to do an IPO of Stolt Tankers."
