ESL Shipping, a shipping company fully owned by Aspo has completed the transaction concerning the acquisition of all the outstanding shares of AtoB@C Shipping AB and AtoB@C Holding AB that offer shipping services.

Total of 444,255 new Aspo's shares issued as part of the purchase price of the Transaction have been registered in the Finnish Trade Register today on 31 August 2018. After the registration of the new shares, the total number of shares in Aspo is 31,419,779.

As announced earlier, the new shares were issued as share consideration in connection with the Transaction in addition to the cash consideration payable to the sellers and the shares are subject to a two-year transfer restriction and pledge. The new shares will be admitted for trading on the main list of Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd on or about 3 September 2018.

Taking into account the Transaction, the net sales of ESL Shipping will increase from EUR 80 million to approximately EUR 160 million using the figures from 2017. Similarly calculated, the cargo volume carried will increase from approximately 11-12 million tonnes to approximately 16-17 million tonnes.

ESL Shipping will have a total of 50 vessels including new LNG ships with a deadweight capacity of 468,000 tonnes compared to the previous 331,000 tonnes. The position of ESL Shipping will strengthen in the category for smaller vessels, and its business will expand with new customers and new product flows.

"Aspo's strategy is to develop leading companies in its field. The acquisition will shift ESL Shipping to a new size class and put it in a good position to improve operational efficiency and overall profitability of the shipping company," says Aki Ojanen, CEO of Aspo Plc and Chairman of the Board of Directors of ESL Shipping.