NRI Businessman Buys Norway Shipping Company
NRI businessman S Sivasankaran has acquired a Norwegian shipping firm,
JB Ugland Shipping (JBUS), for Rs 1,200 crore. Mr Shivkumaran earlier
gained popularity by selling his telecom business Aircel to Maxis of
Malaysia for $800 million.
JBUS is a Norway-headquartered shipping company with a fleet of 40
owned and long-time chartered vessels with an aggregate capacity of
approximately 2 million deadweight tonnage (DWT). The company’s fleet
consists of a mix of tankers and chemical and bulk carriers. The fleet
has an average life of approximately four years. It is also acquiring
new vessels which will be delivered in phases over the next three years.
The company’s main operations are centered in Oslo, Norway and Singapore.
Mr Sivasankaran has routed the acquisition through Siva Ventures, his
flagship company which controls Sterling Infotech, a leading domestic
telcommunication firm. Siva Ventures, having a turnover $2 billion,
has business interests in a variety of industrial sectors like media,
biofuels, wind energy and real estate.
Confirming the acquisition, Mr Sivasankaran said that the group has
identified shipping as a key business area considering its growth potential.
"For shipping of bulk commodities, the demand from India is likely
to see an explosive growth on the back of the increased raw material
demand for the new power and oil refining projects coming up in India,
a large number of which are based on imported raw materials," said
Mr Sivasankaran.
According to industry sources the incumbent management of JBUS, led
by CEO Bjorn Bergsland, will continue to run the company. As part of
the negotiated deal, the company will have the rights to use the JBUS
brand name for three years and will continue trading under the JB Ugland
following the acquisition. Siva Ventures group CEO V Srinivasan said,
"the acquisition is a part of the group’s strategy to focus on
high-growth sectors."
"I believe the shipping industry, especially the bulk segment
– both tankers and dry bulk carriers – will increasingly revolve around
the broader Asian commodities story," said Mr Sivasankaran.
Photo: Pune City Shaygan Hallaj Nishabouri by ShayganHallajNishabouri, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
