Shreyas Shipping to be split in two following DP World deal

Mumbai-listed Shreyas Shipping & Logistics Ltd, the Indian flagged vessel owning unit of Transworld Group, will be split in two to help Dubai government-owned DP World Ltd buy three units of the logistics and shipping firm promoted by Indian businessman Ramesh Ramakrishnan in a deal announced on Wednesday.

Following the hive-off, Shreyas Shipping & Logistics will be left with the container ship owning division and bulk cargo ship operations, while the container vessel operating business will be transferred/sold to Transworld Feeders Pvt Ltd, an existing Indian subsidiary which, in turn, will be sold to Unifeeder Group, a unit of DP World.

The container vessel operating business of Shreyas Shipping & Logistics comprises the containerised Indian coastal and export-import (EXIM) feeder shipping operations.

Shreyas has a market share of over 90 per cent in EXIM transhipment business and more than 52 per cent in the domestic container business. It is a preferred partner for most main line ship operators for EXIM transhipment services at various Indian ports.

Shreyas Shipping runs a fleet of 13 ships, the largest on the Indian coast. The promoter and promoter groups hold 68.94 per cent stake in Shreyas.

Board approval

“We have received board approval for the structuring of the deal and shareholders’ approval is being taken,” said top officials of Shreyas Shipping & Logistics Ltd and Avana Logistek Ltd.

Shreyas Shipping will deploy the vessels with Transworld Feeders and, going forward, with Unifeeder.

Unifeeders’ operations are huge and that gives an advantage to Shreyas Shipping, an official said. Unifeeder works on an asset-light model and relies on outside vessels for their operations. “Shreyas will be a vessel provider to them,” he said.

“Virtually, everything will remain the same. Shreyas will continue to be an Indian listed company and all its ships will remain registered under the Indian flag,” he asserted.

When asked about the impact of value on Shreyas after the split, he said: “We are getting a much higher value than what we were getting so far. The effect on value will remain with Shreyas because what we have given out is only the operations”.

“In turn, we are guaranteed utilisation of vessels. All the container ships of Shreyas will be taken into their (Unifeeder) operations for sure. We will continue to grow on their back. The revenue stream will be steady. We are not going to be under uncertainty arising out of even market fluctuations. That’s the best part. So, Shreyas will be in a much better position,” he said.

“We will continue to grow on the asset owning side while they will continue to grow on the operations side and both will complement each other,” he added.

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