Beluga said to eye intermarine takeover

Beluga Shipping, the German heavy lift and project cargo shipping line, plans to take over rival U.S. carrier Intermarine, according to media reports.

Negotiations to acquire New Orleans-based Intermarine are "well advanced," said Bremen newspaper Weser-Kurier.

Beluga, which is headquartered in Bremen, so far has not commented on the report. Intermarine's majority owner, New York-based New Mountain Capital denied the reports.

The reported bid comes less than two months after Beluga announced Los Angeles-based private equity group Oaktree Capital Management had invested $260 million and acquired an undisclosed minority stake in the heavy lift carrier.

Oaktree said it would finance privately-owned Beluga's strategic growth including the purchase of a new generation of specialized vessels.

Intermarine, which has a fleet of around 30 ships and eight on order, is majority owned by New Mountain Capital, a New York-based private equity company.

Beluga, which has a fleet of around 70 multi purpose heavy lift ships and some chartered-out container vessels, booked a profit of $26 million on revenue of $540 million in 2009.
(Source:www.joc.com)