Bold Ocean Acquired by Institutional Investors Advised by J.P. Morgan

Published Aug 5, 2024 2:21 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

[By: Bold Ocean, LLC]

Bold Ocean, LLC (“Bold Ocean”) is pleased to announce that institutional investors advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management have acquired Bold Ocean from its parent company, NOVA Infrastructure Management, LLC (“NOVA”). The new strategic ownership group will be pursuing growth opportunities to expand the company’s U.S. flag fleet and logistical services. Dion Nicely, CEO of Bold Ocean, will continue to lead the company, alongside an experienced and talented team.
 
Headquartered in Annapolis, MD, Bold Ocean/Schuyler Line Navigation Company is a leading U.S. Flag operator serving the critical transportation and logistics needs of numerous U.S. government agencies. The Company operates nine vessels that transport essential government supplies, fuel, humanitarian food aid, and other goods under long-term time charter with the U.S. government as well as parcel contracts with highly rated counterparties, providing significant revenue stability and downside protection for the business.  

Dion Nicely, CEO stated: “We are thrilled to have J.P. Morgan’s deep maritime industry experience and transportation-asset focus enhancing the Bold Ocean team. Bold Ocean has a great foundation for the future and with J.P. Morgan’s support, we will continue to meet the needs of the U.S. government with the highest service levels. We would like to thank NOVA for being a thoughtful and value-added partner to Bold Ocean as we scaled the business rapidly over the past three years”. 

Andrian Dacy, Global Head of Transportation for J.P. Morgan Asset Management noted: “We believe Bold Ocean will benefit from our global maritime platform, bringing scale and growth opportunities, at a time when we expect the U.S. flag market to continue to evolve and grow.” Nicholas Meer, Managing Director, Global Transportation for J.P. Morgan Asset Management, commented, “We look forward to working Bold Ocean’s management team as we continue building our end-to-end transportation solutions.”

“NOVA is honored to have supported the Company during its transformative years of growth and we are incredibly proud of the Bold Ocean team for building a market-leading business. Critical to the success of our partnership was the development and execution of a range of strategic initiatives, including strategic contract renewals, improving the fleet by adding newer and higher quality vessels, and entering into new markets, such as humanitarian food-aid,” said Allison Kingsley, Co-Founder and Partner at NOVA. “We are grateful to the Company’s founders for their partnership and commend CEO Dion Nicely and the management team for their stewardship of the business. We look forward to great future outcomes for Bold Ocean.”

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