TransAtlantic AB, a subsidiary of Swedish Viking Supply Ships, has reached an agreement to divest its container operation to Singapore’s feeder owner X-Press Feeders and, in a separate transaction, to divest ship management operations to Sweden-based ship operator AtoB@C.
The container operations to be sold consist of TransFeeder North Line, TransBothnia Container Line and TransFeeder South Line, including the forwarding business and 15 onshore employees.
The annual turnover is approximately SEK 420 million and 105,000 TEUs. The purchase price is EUR 3.1 million (USD 3.3 million) on a debt free basis, payable in cash on closing. The transaction is expected to close in the beginning of December 2015. As informed, X-Press Feeders will continue to conduct the business under the brand TransAtlantic Container.
“We believe that X-Press Feeders is ideally positioned to take the strong market position of the container operations forward. With a global reach they will have the capability to develop the logistic solutions further to follow the customers’ future needs, where scale is increasingly important, “says H eléne Mellquist, CEO TransAtlantic AB .
X-Press Feeders has a fleet of over 70 chartered and 21 owned vessels, operating from all the major global transhipment hubs, and has an annual throughput in excess of 4 million TEUs.
“X-Press Feeders is pleased to have come across such an experienced team in these specialist trades, who will bring much knowledge of the Scandinavian region and the customer requirements, and will help deliver further anticipated network growth together,” says Tristan Howitt CEO X-Press Feeders.
The sale of the company’s ship management operations, TransAtlantic Ship Management, to AtoB@C Shipping AB is expected to be closed in the beginning of December 2015.
The operation will remain in Gothenburg and be renamed GoTa Ship Management AB.
AtoB@C Shipping AB is a privately owned ship owning, ship operator / logistic company founded in 2000. The company operates a fleet of 30 well maintained, ice classed, multipurpose vessels. The trading area is the Baltic Sea, Continent, North Spain, Portugal and the Mediterranean Sea.