MSC to Buy Brazil’s Wilson Sons Terminal and Tug Operator
MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company is continuing its global acquisition efforts with the latest transaction announced in Brazil. The company has agreed to acquire a controlling interest in Wilson Sons, which is described as the largest integrated port and maritime logistics operator in Brazil.
Under the terms of the agreement, MSC will acquire 56.47 percent of the company’s shares from Ocean Wilson Holdings, a Brazilian-based investment company for approximately $760 million or just over $3 per share. Under securities law, MSC would then be required to also launch a public tender offer for the remaining shares. The shares will be acquired by MSC’s subsidiary SAS Shipping Agencies with a total value of the transaction at approximately $1.35 billion.
News of the agreement came just days after the Brazilian newspaper Valor Economico reported that Miami-based I Squared Capital, a private equity firm focusing on global infrastructure investments, was contemplating an offer for Wilson Sons. Ocean Wilson reported in June 2023 that it was launching a strategic review of its investments. I Square indicated that it might be making an offer within the next 15 days without setting a value while market rumors speculated that MSC was also interested in the company. Wilson Sons and its investors confirmed in a statement that they had received a letter from I Squared while saying they were also in active discussions with “another interested party.”
Wilson Sons highlights that it is more than 180 years old and today it has operations including towage, container terminals, offshore oil and gas support services, small vessel construction, logistics, and ship agency. Its portfolio includes a presence in most major ports in Brazil with container terminals in Bahia and Rio Grande do Sul. It also has 80 tugboats, which make up the largest and most powerful fleet in the country, 23 offshore support vessels flying the Brazilian flag, two offshore support bases, a customs logistics center, two shipyards, provides international logistics services for more than 70 countries, and operates one of the largest independent shipping agencies in Brazil.
“Our strategy has always been focused on delivering enhanced long-term value to our shareholders,” said Caroline Fougler, Chair of Ocean Wilsons while saying the agreement represents the successful realization of the long-term investment in Wilson Sons. Ocean Wilsons the statement says will focus on sustainable growth while Wilson Sons will benefit from additional resources and support.
MSC already has a growing presence in Brazil including operations of a container terminal in Santos, Brazil with Maersk. Last December they announced plans to expand the operations in Santos after a long battle with local interest that sought to block the companies’ efforts.
MSC continues to expand its shoreside operations and logistics offerings. It previously acquired terminals in France and agreed to an expansion in Belgium. MSC also recently completed the acquisition of a nearly 50 percent state in the operator of the container terminals in Hamburg forming a new partnership with the city. In addition to a rapid expansion of its container fleet, MSC has also diversified with the acquisition of Gram Car Carriers and continues to invest in the expansion of its cruise ship operations.
The acquisition of the shares of Wilson Sons requires regulatory approval. The companies are targeting completing the transaction in the second half of 2025.
Boluda Makes Finnish Acquisitions Continuing Tug Sector Consolidation
Spain’s Boluda Group is continuing its rapid acquisitions across the tug and towboat sector as it works to further expand leadership in the industry. The latest acquisition of a family-owned small towboat company in Finland the company says is part of a strategy to consolidate its presence in Northern Europe and its expansion plans through the entry into Scandinavia.
Boluda is acquiring Yxpila Hinaus-Bogsering, which bills itself as the leading harbor towage company in the Gulf of Bothnia. The company was founded in 1981 and reports it has changed ownership several times with the current team in place since 2009. It has 18 employees and a fleet of six vessels, of which five are icebreakers.
“This purchase is a further step in our consolidation in Northern Europe, a complex market where the experience and expertise of the crews are key to carrying out towing and marine salvage operations in extreme conditions,” said Vicente Boluda Fos, president of Boluda. “In addition, we are opening the Scandinavian market, providing coverage to our customers in the northernmost part of the Baltic.”
YHB they said will add to Boluda Towage its experience at the forefront of towing operations in the extreme conditions of the Baltic, where ice and low temperatures require the knowledge and the expertise of crews to perform maneuvers safely and efficiently.
The company is based in the Finnish port of Kokkola, providing harbor towage and icebreaking services in the ports of Kokkola, Vaasa, Raahe, and Kemi, as well as available elsewhere in the region. The company’s fleet consists of six vessels including both conventional tugs and ASD vessels. It acquired its first ASD tug, the Aries, from Singapore, in 2007. Its latest acquisition was also an ASD tug, the Aquila, which arrived in Kokkola from St. Petersburg in 2018.
Boluda Group reports it currently has a fleet of 364 tugs after having recently made acquisitions in France, the UK, Gibraltar, and elsewhere. It began its acquisitions in 2017 with the German towage companies of Unterweder Reederei and Lutgens & Reimers followed by Kotug Smit Towage in 2019, and in 2021, the harbor and offshore activities of Iskes Towage & Salvage. Later that year it also acquired the Scottish Caledonian Towage.
Plans to acquire Smit Lamnalco from joint venture owners Boskalis and the Saudi Arabian Rezayat Group were announced in 2013. The deal would have cemented the group’s position with a total of well over 500 vessels. Boskalis however decided to buy out the partnership and reported on Monday, October 21, that Royal Boskalis completed the acquisition of Smit Lamnalco. Boskalis had been a 50 percent shareholder in Smit Lamnalco since 1963 and through the transaction acquired all remaining shares.
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