Four investment groups have taken control of SeaLead, the fast growing Singapore-based liner shipping company, and a new organisational structure and management transition plan is being put in place.
Eurasia Capital, a Singapore-registered equity and debt multi-purpose fund that invests in multiple countries and industries, including maritime and logistics, Mauritius-headquartered HCP Investments, which invests across equities, debt notes, performance loans, derivatives as well as distressed assets across various markets, Access Capital Funds: a Cayman Islands-registered fund that employs multi-asset investment strategies across sectors and geographies, and Saral Incorp. VCC SubFund: a Mauritius-registered fund that employs multi-asset investment strategies across sectors and geographies, are the new owners. How the shareholdings divide between the groups has not been divulged.
SeaLead claims the changes reflect are strategic and designed to reinforce the carrier’s market position and enhance its operational and commercial capabilities.
As part of the new ownership structure, a Board of Directors will be set up to represent the interests of the new owners in overseeing SeaLead. The composition of this Board and its responsibilities are still to be announced. But Henry Schmidl, SeaLead’s current manging director, is leaving the company and SC Chan, an experienced liner shipping executive and already a part of the carrier’s management team, has been appointed as his replacement on an interim basis.
A SeaLand statement stressed that the changes were unlikely to lead to any disruption in the carrier’s services but would ultimately strengthen its operational capabilities, expand its market reach, and enhance its service offerings in the container shipping sector.
SeaLead was established in 2017 to operate feeder services in the Red Sea. It now offers a network spanning Asia (China to India), the Middle East and eastern Mediterranean with some services also including Australia and Brazil. According to maritime research group Alphaliner, it now operates a fleet of 32 ships aggregating just over 140,000 TEU.
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