The US private equity fund AMERRA Capital now owns 51 percent of the shares in the Norway-based AquaShip.
AquaShip says this in a press release.
“Most of AMERRA Capital’s investment has come through a private placement in AquaShip, which has significantly strengthened the balance sheet, and thus is strongly equipped for further growth through new construction contracting, acquisition and purchase of second-hand tonnage,” says AquaShip CEO Sverre Christian Taknes.
AquaShip was formed in 2018 when Gripship and Johnson Marine merged. Today, the company has a fleet of 28 boats in total. The boats operate in Norway, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Spain, Scotland, Ireland, Shetland and Iceland.
“AquaShip has experience in operating, designing and building vessels, but before the new partnership with AMERRA, we did not have the necessary funds and institutional support to scale up our efforts. We are very happy to work with AMERRA,” Taknes said in the press release.
AMERRA’s IT Director and Partner, Craig Tashjian, says that AquaShip’s strategic vision and growth have aroused interest in Americans. They were also impressed with the quality and integrity of AquaShip’s management team.
“We look forward to supporting AquaShip in securing their business plans,” says Tashjian.
DNB has been chosen as the facilitator for the transaction.
In 2017, AMERRA also acquired biotech company Biomega in Sotra, western Norway.
