Agreement between Carlyle Group and Seaspan Corporation in order to invest five billions of dollars in new ships



The investment trusts Carlyle Group of Washington and Tiger Group Investments di Hong Kong, the shipowning group Seaspan Corporation and its managing director Gerry Wang and its director Graham Porter let alone the Washington family of the founder of the group The Washington Companies, Dennis R. Washington, have signed an agreement for the constitution of a new lucks in order to acquire ships between portacontainer, to rinfusiere, oil tankers and unit of other type for a total value of beyond five billions of dollars.

The initial investment will be carried out in the field of the container vessels, section exclusively towards which will be addressed the resources which put on from Seaspan, Tiger and Washington, and will mainly have a value until 900 million dollars in the arc of next the five years with the purchase of new constructions for the Chinese market.

The joint venture new, that it will be guided by Gerry Wang and Graham Porter, will have the objective to promote the collaboration between the Chinese ship yards, backers and public societies. "It is increasing - Wang has explained - desire of the Chinese state societies to control the ships that transport their goods all over the world. We consider that our relations consolidated with the world-wide ship yards, the charters and the backers, in particular in the Chinese Popular Republic, will afford us to continue to get ahead with success our model of increase".

The investment of the shipowning group Seaspan, between whose shareholders figure Tiger Group Investments and The Washington Companies, will pile until 100 million dollars. Seaspan will stop of right of first refusals on portacontainer acquired from the new society let alone preemptive rights on the portacontainer that the new lucks will intend to place on sale. "We consider that the increment of purchasing power obtainable and of scale through this initiative, with the right of first refusal for Seaspan - Gerry Wang has commented - they will constitute a valid way through which we will be able to effectively increase our fleet selective and from the point of view of the costs and to serve our customers better. Moreover we consider that the total volume of our activity and this initiative will allow us to blunt reductions in price on the orders of new constructions, to negotiate progettuali improvements with the ship yards and to obtain forms of financing of the more interesting ships compared to those that otherwise we would have been able to obtain by themselves".

The Carlyle group has specified that own participation to the new lucks will happen with deep resources of Carlyle Partners V and Carlyle Asia Partners III.

While the group Seaspan Corporation has closed the 2010 with a net loss of 87,7 million dollars on revenues for 407,2 million dollars respect to a profit clearly of 145,2 million dollars on revenues for 285,6 million dollars in exercise 2009. The operating profit is piled to 189,8 million dollars regarding 127,5 million dollars in the year precedence.

Seaspan has announced that the society has signed a new agreement with Gerry Wang based on which this last one will maintain the managing director charge on January 1°, 2013 until and after such given he will become Co-president of the shipowning company.