The Finnish company ESL Shipping, engaged in bulk cargo transportation, is preparing for an independent listing on Nasdaq Helsinki following the approval of a partial spin-off plan by its parent company Aspo.
According to the proposal, 78.6% of ESL Shipping's shares and related assets and liabilities will be transferred to a newly created company called ESL Shipping Group. Aspo shareholders will receive one share of the new shipping group for each share of Aspo they hold.
Lighthouse HoldCo, which owns the remaining 21.4% of ESL Shipping shares, has agreed to exchange its shares for shares in the new listing group. Its main shareholders, OP Finland Infrastructure and Finnish pension insurer Varma, are expected to be the two largest shareholders of ESL Shipping Group.
The spin-off is subject to approval at an extraordinary general meeting scheduled for December 7. The completion of the process is expected by December 31, and trading of ESL Shipping shares is set to begin around January 4, 2027.
The remaining operations of Aspo will focus on the chemical product distributor Telko, and the company will be renamed Telko Group. Aspo also noted that the sale of ESL remains an alternative if this path brings greater value to shareholders.
The CEO of ESL, Mikki Koskinen, has been appointed as the CEO of the new company, while Aspo's head, Rolf Jansson, will become the chairman.
The bulk cargo specialist operates around 40 vessels with a deadweight of 4,000 to 25,000 tons. Its ice-class fleet serves industrial companies in the Baltic and Northern regions of Europe, with long-term contracts accounting for about 80% of last year's revenues.
The planned spin-off comes amid the consolidation of the Swedish subsidiary AtoB@C Shipping under the single brand ESL. The company is also investing €186 million in the construction of four new handysize class vessels capable of using methanol, with deliveries scheduled for the third quarter of 2027 and the first half of 2028.
GLOAPM.COM