United Arab Shipping Co (UASC) is considering the sale of its stake in United Arab Chemical Carriers (UACC) for oil and petrochemicals as part of its plans to merge with German container line Hapag-Lloyd, says Bloomberg.
UASC hopes the sale will fetch over $600m, but deliberations are ongoing. Bank of America Corp has been tasked with finding buyers for the holding, says the report.
The company held 95 percent of UACC according to the chemical shipping firm’s 2012 financial report, the most recent one available on the company’s website. No final decisions about the sale have been made, the people said.
UACC, founded in 2007, is a mid-sized operator with a fleet of two dozen tankers. While container and bulk carrier markets have been plagued by oversupply and depressed freight rates in recent years, the tanker market has performed better as vessels are used to store cheap oil.
Combined, Hapag-Lloyd and UASC would rank fifth in an industry dominated by Danish shipping giant A.P. Moeller-Maersk A/S.
The deal would also give Hapag-Lloyd immediate access to some of the largest container ships available.
UASC operates six vessels with a capacity of 18,800 standard 20-foot containers, a size the German carrier lacks.