2020 Bulkers signs binding deal to buy AHTS AS and build a fleet of 15 anchor handlers
Seven vessels and three more under agreement are valued at $264m, with a $175m placement due by 28 September
2020 Bulkers has signed a binding agreement to acquire all the shares in AHTS AS, the step that carries the Oslo-listed company into offshore shipping. The aim is a fleet of as many as 15 large anchor handling tug supply vessels.
AHTS AS owns seven AHTS vessels and has agreements to buy three more. Those ten ships carry an aggregate value of $264 million on a debt-free, cash-free basis, and the estimated purchase price at closing is about $113 million, in the terms the company published on 22 September.
The purchase is paid in shares. About 377 million consideration shares are expected to be issued to AHTS AS shareholders at $0.299 each. A further 300 million or so will be issued for committed shares in the vessel-owning project companies, valued at $143 million in aggregate, of which about $90 million is estimated to fall due at closing. AHTS AS has received acceptances from shareholders in UMAS 42 AS, UMAS 49 AS, Anchor Challenger AS and Anchor Australia AS, and from holders of about 79% of Anchor Launcher AS.
Cash comes from a private placement of up to $175 million, also priced at $0.299 a share. That is larger than the equity raise of about $125 million envisaged when the transaction was first announced on 16 September. New debt of around $150 million is targeted on top of the existing borrowings at Anchor Launcher AS.
The timetable is tight. The placement must be completed by 28 September, closing is planned for 1 October, and either side may walk away if the deal has not closed by 15 October. Shareholders must also approve a reduction in par value to $0.01 and an increase in authorised capital to $50 million.
AHTS AS was set up this year. Harald Moræus-Hanssen's Uthalden, Magnus Halvorsen's MH Capital and Arne Blystad's Songa Capital each hold 31.7%, and Tor Olav Trøim's Drew Holding owns the remaining 4.7%. After the transaction Uthalden is expected to control about 21% of 2020 Bulkers, MH Capital about 11% and Songa Capital about 10%, with their shares under six-month lock-ups.
This story is part of the Maritime Briefing of 25 September 2026.
