Shipping Forum – Private Equity, Restructuring, M&A, Industry Consolidation

By

stavros chalaris

-

May 22, 2020

Podcast Summary

DAY 1 – MONDAY, MARCH 30, 2020

PRIVATE EQUITY, RESTRUCTURING, M&A, INDUSTRY CONSOLIDATION

Regulatory, technological and market forces have a transformational impact on the shipping industry. Regulation is increasing, charterers and stakeholders in general are more demanding, and there is a need for higher capital investment. Does this lead to restructuring, M&A and industry consolidation? Is there a PREXIT with Private Equity exiting shipping or are we seeing new entrants into selective projects? Can private equity accelerate the industry’s transformation?

Moderator: Mr. John Imhof, Shareholder – VedderPrice

Panelists:

Axel Siepmann, Managing Director – Braemar Naves
Michael Kirk, Co-Founder and Managing Director – RMK and Ascension
Chris Weyers, Managing Director, Head of Maritime Investment Banking – Stifel
Mr. Paulo Almeida, Portfolio Manager, Asset Backed Investments – Tufton Oceanic

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Esben Poulsson

M: + 65 98628922

esp@eneselpte.sg

Business Leader with extensive Executive and Non-Executive experience in international shipping with an in-depth knowledge of dry bulk and product tankers in particular.

Comprehensive shipping network in Europe, especially Scandinavia and a respected senior figure in the Asian shipping community. Significant contributor to positioning Singapore as a world class maritime centre, both through the commercial engagement and in an advisory capacity to trade associations and the Singapore government.

Enesel Pte. Ltd. – Chairman	January 2013 - date
Singapore based ship owning / ship management company handling the administration of a fleet of ship owning entities.

Torm	1990 - 2010
International shipping company headquartered in Copenhagen and listed on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange.

Torm Singapore Pte Ltd – Chairman and Chief Executive Officer	2004 – 2010
International shipping company headquartered in Copenhagen and listed on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange.

Torm A/S, Copenhagen – Executive Vice President

2001 – 2004

Rodskog Shipbrokers Ltd., Hong Kong – Managing Director	1983 – 1996
(Rodskog Shipbrokers Ltd. was a 100% subsidiary of Kleinworth Benson from 1983 – 1990 when it was acquired by Torm. In 1996, Torm in turn sold the company to Fearnley A/S, Oslo.)

Kleinwort Benson (H.K.) Ltd., Hong Kong – Director

1979 – 1990

Early career included roles in Hong Kong, Manila and Singapore (1971 – 1977) with the Wallem Group and with Galbraith Wrightson Ltd., London (1977 – 1979)

Non-Executive Roles

Cambiaso Risso Asia Pte. Ltd. – Non-Executive Chairman	2015 – date
The Company is a leading insurance broking and consulting service provider of Hull & Machinery, shipyard and yacht insurance and is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Genoa based Cambiaso Risso Group.

Tamar Ship Management Ltd. – Non-Executive Chairman	2018 - date
Hong Kong based Ship Management company focused on managing vessels in the dry bulk segment.

BW Epic Kosan Ltd. – Board Member	2019 - date
Singapore headquartered, the Company owns and operates a substantial fleet of fully pressurized and other petrochemical gas carriers, providing seaborne transportation in this segment.

Finnlines PLc – Board member	2020-date
The company is a leading owner/operator of modern ro-ro and ro-pax vessels trading in the Baltic Sea, the North Sea and the Bay of Biscay and is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Grimaldi Group, Naples.

Abu Dhabi Ports Group - Maritime Cluster - Board member	2022 - date
The Maritime Cluster includes the SAFEEN Group, Abu Dhabi Maritime Academy, Abu Dhabi Maritime and SAFEEN Feeders and Offshore Logistics.

Keppel Smit Towage Pte. Ltd. - Board member (Chairman designate)	2022 - date
The Company is a leading provider of tugs and offshore support vessels in Singapore and southeast Asia and was recently acquired by the leading Italian tug owner/operator Rimorchiatori Group.

Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) – Board Member

2015 - date

The MPA's mission is to develop Singapore as a premier global hub port and international maritime centre and to advance and safeguard Singapore's strategic maritime interests. MPA takes the role of Port Authority, Port regulator, Port Planner, International Maritime Centre Champion and National Maritime Representative. The MPA partners the industry and other agencies to enhance safety, security and environmental protection in Singapore waters.

X-Press Feeders Ltd. / Sea Consortium Pte. Ltd. – Senior Advisor to the Chairman

2021 - date

The MPA's mission is to develop Singapore as a premier global hub port and international maritime centre and to advance and safeguard Singapore's strategic maritime interests. MPA takes the role of Port Authority, Port regulator, Port Planner, International Maritime Centre Champion and National Maritime Representative. The MPA partners the industry and other agencies to enhance safety, security and environmental protection in Singapore waters.

Enesel Bulk Logistics DMCC, Dubai - Board member	2022 - date
The Company was established in October, 2021 and is a dry bulk operator and logistics company.

Singapore Maritime Foundation – Advisory Panel Member	2012 - date
SMF was established in 2004 to provide a forum in the private sector for generating ideas and proposals to turn Singapore into a major International Maritime Centre and to act as a catalyst in fostering mutual cooperation among the various sectors of the maritime industry.

Previous board positions, advisory roles & honours

Nordic Shipholding A/S (Resigned 2022)

Immediate past Chairman of the International Chamber of Shipping (2022)

Batchfire Resources Pty Ltd. (Resigned as a Board Member in 2021)

X-Press Feeders Ltd. / Sea Consortium Pte. Ltd. (Resigned January 2021)

Straits Tankers Pte. Ltd., Senior Advisor (Resigned 2019 after merger with BW Tankers)

Hafnia Tankers Pte. Ltd. (Resigned as a Board Member in 2019 after the merger with BW Tankers)

Immediate past President – Singapore Shipping Association (2019)

FSL Trust Management Pte. Ltd. (Resigned as a Board Member in 2016)

Pacific Shipping Trust Pte. Ltd. (Privatised in 2011)

Past President – Danish Business Association of Singapore

Awarded the Bintang Bakti Masyarakat (Public Service Star) by the President of Singapore in the 2019 Singapore National Day Honours

Awarded the Seatrade Awards, in association with Lloyd's List, Lifetime Achievement Award in 2021

General Professional and Academic Information

Fluent in English, Danish and Norwegian

Dual nationality: Danish / U.K.

Diploma in Business Administration – British Columbia Institute of Technology, Vancouver, Canada

Advanced Management Program INSEAD, Fountainebleau, France 1993

Co-Founder and Honorary Chairman
Tsavliris Cultural Foundation
Principal - Tsavliris Salvage Group

Mr. George A. Tsavliris was born in London. He graduated from Athens College in 1968 and having acquired professional qualifications in Shipping (F.I.C.S., ACI.Arb), he concluded his graduate and post graduate studies in Shipping Law at University College London in 1973, with an L.L.M. degree. In 2009 he was qualified as a Mediator at the ADR Group London and in 2014 was certified as a Mediator by the Greek Ministry of Justice, Transparency and Human Rights. He familiarized himself with the shipping and salvage sectors from a very early age by being engaged in the family business. George is a Principal at “Tsavliris Salvage Group” and represents the business on both a commercial and environmental basis internationally.

He holds the position of Past Chairman of INTERMEPA (International Marine Environment Protection Association), Chairman of CYMEPA (Cyprus Marine Environmental Protection Association), which received the “Cyprus Maritime Prize 2007”, as well as member of the Board of Directors of Cyprus Union of Shipowners, Board Member of ECSA (European Community Shipowners’ Associations), Board Member of The Yacht Club of Greece, Board Member of Friends of Hellas Liberty Association and the Jubilee Sailing Trust in the UK and Honorary Chairman of the Tsavliris Cultural Foundation. Furthermore, Mr. George Tsavliris is Member of the Academic Board of Metropolitan College / Solent Southampton University. Mr George Tsavliris was awarded the 2016 Capital Link Greek Shipping Leadership Award, in recognition of his unique and extensive contribution to Shipping and Greece and for his overall outstanding service to the shipping industry made by him individually, as a family and by his company as a Group.

In Jan 2019, Mr Tsavliris received the Cyprus Environmental Award on behalf of CYMEPA by the President of the Cypriot Republic Mr Nikos Anastasiades and on March 12th, 2019, Mr Tsavliris was recognized with the Safety4Sea Leadership Award 2019 for his work with CYMEPA and other national & international organizations, toward the protection of the marine environment. Most recently, Mr Tsavliris was appointed Non-Executive Chairman of SSL Endeavour Insurance Brokers Cyprus & Greece. George is a frequent keynote speaker and panelist at numerous maritime related conferences. He is an avid supporter of various charities, an art and music enthusiast and has completed ten London marathons. He is a father of six children.

George Tsavliris

Co-Founder and Honorary Chairman
Tsavliris Cultural Foundation
Principal - Tsavliris Salvage Group

Mr. George A. Tsavliris was born in London. He graduated from Athens College in 1968 and having acquired professional qualifications in Shipping (F.I.C.S., ACI.Arb), he concluded his graduate and post graduate studies in Shipping Law at University College London in 1973, with an L.L.M. degree. In 2009 he was qualified as a Mediator at the ADR Group London and in 2014 was certified as a Mediator by the Greek Ministry of Justice, Transparency and Human Rights. He familiarized himself with the shipping and salvage sectors from a very early age by being engaged in the family business. George is a Principal at “Tsavliris Salvage Group” and represents the business on both a commercial and environmental basis internationally.

He holds the position of Past Chairman of INTERMEPA (International Marine Environment Protection Association), Chairman of CYMEPA (Cyprus Marine Environmental Protection Association), which received the “Cyprus Maritime Prize 2007”, as well as member of the Board of Directors of Cyprus Union of Shipowners, Board Member of ECSA (European Community Shipowners’ Associations), Board Member of The Yacht Club of Greece, Board Member of Friends of Hellas Liberty Association and the Jubilee Sailing Trust in the UK and Honorary Chairman of the Tsavliris Cultural Foundation. Furthermore, Mr. George Tsavliris is Member of the Academic Board of Metropolitan College / Solent Southampton University. Mr George Tsavliris was awarded the 2016 Capital Link Greek Shipping Leadership Award, in recognition of his unique and extensive contribution to Shipping and Greece and for his overall outstanding service to the shipping industry made by him individually, as a family and by his company as a Group.

In Jan 2019, Mr Tsavliris received the Cyprus Environmental Award on behalf of CYMEPA by the President of the Cypriot Republic Mr Nikos Anastasiades and on March 12th, 2019, Mr Tsavliris was recognized with the Safety4Sea Leadership Award 2019 for his work with CYMEPA and other national & international organizations, toward the protection of the marine environment. Most recently, Mr Tsavliris was appointed Non-Executive Chairman of SSL Endeavour Insurance Brokers Cyprus & Greece. George is a frequent keynote speaker and panelist at numerous maritime related conferences. He is an avid supporter of various charities, an art and music enthusiast and has completed ten London marathons. He is a father of six children.