On March 22, Hainan Strait Shipping Co., Ltd (hereinafter referred to as “Hainan Strait Shipping”) released a “Report on Major Asset Acquisition and Related Transactions (Draft)”.
The announcement disclosed that Hainan Strait Shipping intends to purchase 100% of the equity of COSCO Shipping Ferry Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “COSCO Shipping Ferry”) from COSCO Shipping (Dalian) in cash, with a total purchase price of approximately RMB 2.515 billion (approximately US$347 million).
This transaction constitutes a major asset reorganization of the listed company. It is worth noting that for this major asset reorganization, Hainan Strait Shipping did not apply to the Exchange for a suspension of trading.
According to the announcement, COSCO Shipping (Dalian) and Hainan Strait Shipping both belong to COSCO Shipping Group and are high quality ro-ro transportation companies within COSCO Shipping Group. Both companies operate passenger ferries in the Qiongzhou Strait and Bohai Bay respectively.
Hainan Strait Shipping mainly operates the passenger and vehicle transport routes from Haikou to Hai’an, Haikou to Beihai, the tourist passenger route from Haikou (Sanya) to Xisha, as well as the ferry port services of Xinhai Port and Xiuying Port. Among them, the peak business seasons of the Qiongzhou Strait are mainly concentrated in the spring and winter seasons, while the peak business seasons of the Bohai Bay are mainly concentrated in the summer and autumn seasons, with strong complementarity between the peak business seasons of the two sides.
After the transaction is completed, Hainan Strait Shipping will carry out passenger and vehicle ferry business in Bohai Bay through COSCO Shipping Ferry, which will realize the coordinated transportation capacity of the north and south of Qiongzhou Strait and Bohai Bay. During the peak period of transportation in Qiongzhou Strait, COSCO Shipping Ferry’s large passenger and vehicle ferry will be introduced to alleviate transportation pressure, ensure smooth passage of passengers and cargo across the sea, and enhance the service guarantee capability of passenger and vehicle ferry in Qiongzhou Strait during the peak period.
After the completion of this transaction, the scale of Hanan Strait Shipping’s own passenger and cargo ro-ro vessels will reach 62, ranking first in the world in terms of fleet size, and becoming China’s first leading passenger and cargo ro-ro company with cross-regional operations.