Ince & Co’s London and Hamburg business and finance teams worked with global investment banking firm Jefferies LLC in advising a group of major shipowners with vessels on long-term charter to Israeli box line ZIM on its $3 billion restructuring.
The restructuring completed on July 16 when Israel corporation injected $200 million to acquire 32% of the equity of the newly restructured company. The restructuring also includes the write-off of $1.4 billion of debt part of which has been converted into 68% of the equity, now owned by former creditors. The State of Israel maintains its "golden share," subject to amendments confirmed by the Supreme Court of Israel and the Haifa District Court.
Ince & Co partner David Baker commented, "Over the last five years we have been involved in numerous restructurings for clients in the shipping market. This one however has been one of the most challenging. We are therefore very pleased to have been able to work with our clients in successfully concluding this transaction, which is the largest corporate restructuring in Israel to date, and involved a team of advisors working seamlessly across London, Hamburg, New York and Israel.”
“We are very pleased to have worked alongside Jefferies on this significant deal that will enable ZIM to compete successfully in the highly competitive box ship market. Our depth of experience in the shipping sector and our close working relationship with Jefferies and also with legal advisers Seward & Kissel LLP in the US, and Herzog Fox & Neeman in Israel, were key to delivering a successful outcome for our shipowner clients,” added Ince & Co senior associate Matthew Stratton.
Andrew Speirs, Jefferies’ European head of Restructuring and Recapitalization commented, “We are delighted to have had this opportunity to work with the highly skilled interdisciplinary team from Ince & Co. Their guidance in developing thoughtful solutions to the myriad legal and transactional issues was essential to successfully concluding this complex multinational restructuring.”
Ince lawyers who worked on the deal included London-based partners David Baker, Stephen Marais, Richard Britain and Fionna Gavin; senior associates Matthew Stratton, Alison Lescure and James Hickland; solicitor Beatrice Russ; trainees Theresa Glatter and Marcus Gwyer; and Hamburg-based partner Jan Hungar and associate Daniel Smith.
