The shipping group Armas Trasmediterránea changes hands to reduce debt and float in the context of a restructuring and strategic plan with which it expects to reach 76 million operating profit in 2025. Its main bondholders, JP Morgan, Barings, Cheney Capital, Bain Capital and Tresidor funds, have signed during the last hours the lock-up agreement by which they will capitalise a large part of the debt taking 94% of the capital and injecting 73.3 million of new money in the Canary Islands shipping company. The Armas family cedes control by diluting up to 6% of the Canary Islands group’s capital in order to promote a new growth plan backed by all its creditors and shareholders. To date, the founding family held 35% of the capital (in class B shares). After the change of hands, the company has updated its business plan, which aims to end this year with a gross operating profit of around 52 million euros and to reach 3.8 million passengers this year.
According to the information sent to its bondholders, Naviera Armas expects to return to positive operating profit in 2024. The objective is to reach an Ebitda in 2023 of around 52 million euros thanks to several factors. The first will be the design and implementation of a turnaround plan that includes a set of commercial and operational initiatives to improve route-by-route profitability.
Global co-head of Banking and partner Ben Crosse and Banking/R&I UK Rowland Light led this deal.
