Commerzbank signed an agreement on the sale of its ship restructuring platform HSAM GmbH (Hanseatic Ship Asset Management GmbH), which was founded in May 2013, to a joint venture company of KKR Special Situations Group from Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P. (USA) and Borealis Maritime Ltd. (UK). The proceeds from the sale amount to approximately 255 million USD (approx. ? 233 million). It was agreed that confidentiality be maintained on further contractual details. The transaction is still subject to the approval of the relevant authorities. "In a favourable market environment we were able to divest HSAM GmbH earlier than expected. Thus, we are continuing our consistent path of value-preserving run-down," said Stefan Otto, Divisional Board Member NCA Deutsche Schiffsbank. HSAM GmbH was a wholly-owned subsidiary of Commerzbank Inlandsbanken Holding GmbH. The objective of the internal restructuring platform was to take over individual ships with potential from existing, non-performing credit relationships. Most recently, the portfolio of HSAM GmbH consisted of 18 ships, comprising 13 container ships and 5 bulk carriers. The sale of HSAM improves the risk profile in the NCA segment and contributes to substantial value retention, which was made possible by operating the ships on the internal platform. The transaction will burden the second quarter result of the NCA segment with about ?40 million. Due to a release of risk-weighted assets (RWA) in the third quarter of 2015, the overall net capital effect is more or less neutral. ***** About Commerzbank Commerzbank is a leading international commercial bank with branches and offices in more than 50 countries. The core markets of Commerzbank are Germany and Poland. With the business areas Private Customers, Mittelstandsbank, Corporates & Markets and Central & Eastern Europe, its private customers and corporate clients, as well as institutional investors, profit from a comprehensive portfolio of banking and capital market services. Commerzbank finances more than 30 per cent of Germany's foreign trade and is the unchallenged leader in financing for SMEs. With its subsidiaries comdirect and Poland's mBank it owns two of the world's most innovative online banks. With approximately 1,100 branches and approximately 90 advisory centres for business customers Commerzbank has one of the densest branch networks among German private banks. In total, Commerzbank boasts approximately 15 million private customers, as well as 1 million business and corporate clients. The Bank, which was founded in 1870, is represented at all the world's major stock exchanges. In 2014, it generated gross revenues of almost EUR 9 billion with an average of approximately 52,000 employees. ***** Disclaimer This release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. In this release, these statements concern inter alia the expected future business of Commerzbank, efficiency gains and expected synergies, expected growth prospects and other opportunities for an increase in value of Commerzbank as well as expected future financial results, restructuring costs and other financial developments and information. These forward-looking statements are based on the management's current plans, expectations, estimates and projections. They are subject to a number of assumptions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results and developments to differ materially from any future results and developments expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include the conditions in the financial markets in Germany, in Europe, in the USA and other regions from which Commerzbank derives a substantial portion of its revenues and in which Commerzbank holds a substantial portion of its assets, the development of asset prices and market volatility, especially due to the ongoing European debt crisis, potential defaults of borrowers or trading counterparties, the implementation of its strategic initiatives to improve its business model, particularly to reduce its NCA portfolio, the reliability of its risk management policies, procedures and methods, risks arising as a result of regulatory change and other risks. Forward-looking statements therefore speak only as of the date they are made. Commerzbank has no obligation to update or release any revisions to the forward-looking statements contained in this release to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release.
Commerzbank's Hanseatic Ship Asset Management is to sell eighteen dry bulk and container ships for $254.5mn. Stefan Otto, the result of a joint venture by US private equity firm KKR & Co and Borealis Maritime to invest in distressed shipping assets, is the buyer. Commerzbank had acquired these ships previously from borrowers who had defaulted on their loans.