Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL; President & CEO: Takeshi Hashimoto) announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, chemical tanker operator MOL Chemical Tankers Pte. Ltd. (MOLCT; CEO: Akira Sasa; Head Office: Singapore), has completed the acquisition of all shares of Fairfield Chemical Carriers Pte. Ltd. (FCC; Head Office: Singapore) on March 1, 2024. The acquisition is based on a share transfer agreement (Note 1) signed at the end of September 2023 and has obtained approval from the relevant authorities under competition law. The acquisition price of the shares will be about US$400 million.
The MOL Group positions the chemical tanker business as a business domain where it expects growth, as set out in its group management plan "BLUE ACTION 2035," and intends to proactively invest in this field. This acquisition is part of that plan.
Through this acquisition, MOLCT will integrate its fleet of 81 multi-segregated chemical tankers with stainless steel tanks (Note 2) with the 36 FCC vessels, making it one of the largest such fleets in the world. It will strengthen its highly specialized business using multi-segregated chemical tankers with stainless steel tanks, which is one of the company's strengths.
MOLCT CEO Akira Sasa commented, "Effective March 1, 2024, Fairfield Chemical Carriers (FCC) joined our group. With the integration of the FCC, the MOLCT Group has expanded its business base and can now offer a wider range of services to its customers. Together, both MOLCT and FCC will strive to offer our customers superior service in all aspects."
Fairfield-Maxwell CEO Anthony Dowd commented, "We believe that this share transfer will lead to further growth for both MOLCT and FCC. We wish the new MOLCT Group every success."
Source: MOL
