CMA CGM ship leasing unit ready for IPO

CMA CGM ship leasing unit ready for IPO Stockholders of Marathon Acquisition Corp. have approved the proposed merger with Global Ship Lease, the ship-leasing unit of French shipping group CMA CGM.
   Following the closing of the merger, which is anticipated by the end of today, the resulting company, Global Ship Lease, will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange with assets valued at $1 billion. Under the deal, CMA CGM will retain about 23 percent of GSL, less than the 34 percent stake it was initially expected to keep.
   GSL owns 17 vessels (12 in operation and five on order) with a total capacity of 66,297 TEUs and an average age of 5.5 years. The vessels sold will remain chartered by CMA CGM for an average term of about 11 years “at a very competitive rate.” GSL will seek to add to its fleet with both new and secondhand vessels in order to generate business with other lines besides CMA CGM.
   The French company last year shelved plans to list GSL on its own just weeks after announcing it, saying market conditions were not conducive.
   “This $1 billion transaction is a first in the container shipping industry,” said Jean-Yves Schapiro, deputy managing director of CMA CGM, in charge of finance. “The sale of these vessels generates new financing capacities for CMA CGM, enabling the group to improve its ratios. In addition, this transaction will enable the creation of a new charter company in the container shipping industry.'
   Marathon is “blank check” or “special purpose acquisition company” that was formed in 2006 by Michael Gross, a former executive at Apollo Management, the company that created CEVA Logistics.