Intermarine and Scan-Trans in major project cargo merger
Intermarine and Scan-Trans have merged to create a project cargo carrier powerhouse. Is the merger a sign of future consolidations in the project cargo sector?
By George Lauriat, AJOT
The merger between Intermarine and Scan-Trans instantly makes the new company, with more than 50 multipurpose and heavylift vessels and an annual turnover in excess of $500 million, one of the real powerhouses in the project cargo/heavy lift sector.
Most marine mergers involve a significant amount of overlap, but as Intermarine CEO Al Stanley explained the synergy in an interview with the AJOT, “It’s like two hands shaking…with the 18 offices worldwide there is only duplication here in Houston.”
Intermarine, a Houston/New Orleans-based operator, is strong in the Americas, runs US-flag ships and owns Industrial Terminals (the largest project cargo terminal in the US) in Houston, while Naestved, the Denmark-based Scan-Trans Holding A/S, has substantial business interests in Asia, the Middle East and Europe.
Stanley, who came aboard as CEO of Intermarine in June, has background in investment (Morgenthaler Partners) and said that Intermarine was already in the process of looking for a partner. The company’s main shareholder is the private equity firm of New York-based New Mountain Capital, with more than US$9 billion under management.
Lars Juhl, CEO of Scan-Trans and one of the company’s founding partners, also said that the Danish carrier had been looking for a partner for sometime. In a prescient conversation with the AJOT back in late April, Juhl noted with some admiration the considerable strength and business acumen that Intermarine possessed. It’s not surprising that both parties agree that culturally the two businesses fit well.
Stanley told the AJOT, that the merged entity would eventually adopt the Intermarine brand but would initially go through a transition period, involving both brand names.
With the merger of Intermarine and Scan-Trans, the Company will focus on four key areas:
• Inter-Americas liner and terminal services;
• Global chartering and liner services;
• Commercial management of third-party vessels;
• US Flag services worldwide.
Stanley told the AJOT that one of the early challenges of the merger will be finding the right balance of the combined fleet, both geographically and in terms of class. For example, Intermarine ships run anywhere from 4,000 dwt to 14,000 dwt and some of the ships have a lift capability of 800 tons.
One of the real advantages of the merger is the access to capital (New Mountain) necessary to grow organically or through acquisition. Although the global project cargo market has been hampered by the financial crisis and ongoing recession, there is a considerable amount of activities in the Americas with Brazil’s offshore oil and infrastructure related projects, Chile and Peru’s mining sector and Canada’s own energy projects. In addition the Middle East, Africa and to a lesser extent, Asia, are all still strong project market regions.
The real question is, in one, two or three years when the pick and shovel work begin on a host of projects globally that hitherto have been sidelined because of the recession, who is going to be placed best to take advantage of an uptick in the marketplace when it happens? Having the suitable mass in the market (via merger) and the ability to scale up to a post-recession project cargo marketplace certainly puts Intermarine at the front of the queue.
The size and scope of the Intermarine-Scan Trans merger won’t pass unnoticed. The project cargo sector is a cozy niche nestled away from the much larger bulk and boxship sectors. Will this merger set off a round of consolidations? Maybe, maybe not but undoubtedly project cargo carriers will be looking a little differently at the competition, as they begin eyeing potential dance partners.
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