ZIM plans initial public offering for 2016

The Israeli ocean carrier recently returned to the black, posting adjusted net profits of $23 million in the second quarter of 2015 compared with a net loss of $50 million the previous year.    Israeli shipping line ZIM is planning an initial public offering for 2016, according to reports from news service Reuters.
   Reuters quoted “two sources familiar” with the matter, who said Thursday that ZIM has selected investment firms Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Barclays Plc to advise it in the IPO. ZIM has yet to set a date or valuation for its public float, but the sources said the IPO will most likely be on the New York Stock Exchange.
   ZIM told Reuters in an emailed response the company “has been contemplating going public and other financing options since 2007. This strategy has not changed. We have nothing to report at this time and do not comment on rumors.”
   Officials from Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Barclays also declined to comment.
   According to ocean carrier schedule and capacity database BlueWater Reporting, ZIM is currently the 19th largest shipping line by operating fleet capacity at 338,004 TEUs.
   Like most carriers, ZIM has struggled to turn a profit since start of the global economic recession and trade volumes remained stagnant, rates fell and carriers began purchasing larger, more efficient vessels. From 2009 to 2014, ZIM has reported annual losses totaling more than $1.2 billion.
   In 2014, ZIM announced it had finalized the terms of an approximate $3.4 billion debt restructuring, including a debt-equity swap with its creditors of about $1.4 billion. The terms of the restructuring reduced state-owned Israel Corp.’s holding in ZIM from 100 percent to 32 percent, with the remaining shares being transferred to the company’s creditors.
   The largest shareholder now is Kenon Holdings, an investment firm controlled by billionaire Idan Ofer, according to Reuters.
   The debt restructuring, along with completely abandoning the cutthroat Asia-North Europe trade, helped ZIM return to the black, as the company posted adjusted net profits of $23 million in the second quarter of 2015 compared with a net loss of $50 million the previous year.