Watson, Farley & Williams has advised HSH Nordbank on a transfer of 10 distressed vessels out of its non-core portfolio to the Navios Group.
The fleet comprises five medium or large range product tankers and five panamax or sub-panamax container vessels, with an average age of six years and a market value in the region of USD 218 million. Watson, Farley & Williams describes the "highly structured complex financing" as "a landmark deal in the shipping industry, providing a blueprint on how lenders may look to dispose of their non-performing debts without giving up their recovery potential in case of an improving shipping market."
The financing comprises four different levels of debt and security in respect of each vessel and complex inter-creditor arrangements to comply with the securitization requirements of the lenders. Navios funded the acquisition through USD 120.4 million senior bank debt, USD 10 million investment plus working capital from Navios, and a USD 173.4 million subordinated HSH participating loan.
WFW Asset Finance Partners George Paleokrassas and Clemens Hillmer led the team, and were supported by Patrick Smith, Electra Stamatopoulos, Gladys Sexl and Michael Valentin.
