Mercator Line to be listed or restructured

The Singapore-based dry bulk offshoot of India’s Mercator Group is in talks with investors for about a potential listing or restructuring of the company.

   Dry bulk carrier Mercator Lines has filed an application to wind up the company, which is currently under judicial management, according to a statement from the firm.
   The judicial manager overseeing the application has held preliminary discussions with “several potential investors” to potentially transfer the company’s listing status. Another option is to restructure the company, Mercator said.
   The company, based in Singapore, is managed by India’s Mercator Group.
   According to the Mercator, the potential investors have expressed an interest in its listing status, but the company has “been unable to justify an application for a further extension on its judicial management order.”
   Currently, the hearing date for the winding-up application is set for Friday, Sept. 8.
   The application follows an announcement made in July that the company had terminated a proposed deal which would have seen its listing status transferred to a company to be set up by two individuals, Nickolaos Mitropoulous and Dimitrios Podaridis, multiple news sources reported.
   The two own three Australian businesses in the bulk industry, Champion Commodities, Country Fresh Milk and Champion Beverages.