Watson, Farley & Williams Asia Practice LLP (“WFW”) is pleased to announce that it acted as legal advisor to DVB Group Merchant Bank (Asia) Ltd and Dekabank Deutsche Girozentrale on a loan facility led by DVB’s chemical, LPG and product tanker group to refinance 16 LPG carriers. The financing was implemented following a merger by Epic Shipping and Pantheon Inc for which DVB Corporate Finance separately served as exclusive financial advisor. Both the merger transaction and associated financing involved multiple jurisdictions including Panama, Malta, the Marshall Islands, Singapore, the British Virgin Islands and England and Wales.
The new entity, Epic Pantheon International, is backed by, among others, Jefferies Capital Partners, DVB Shipping & Intermodal Investment Management and Diamantis Pateras Maritime Ltd, which provided equity support to coincide with the debt financing.
The transaction was led by partner and head of WFW’s Singapore office Goh Mei Lin, who was assisted by associates Lizzie Roe, Clarence Ho and Angelique Kounis.
WFW partner Goh Mei Lin said: “We are delighted to have been part of this financing which provides the company with an excellent platform for future growth. It was particularly gratifying to have been able to successfully close a transaction as complex as this within such a tight time frame and in such a challenging shipping and lending market.”
Frans van de Bospoort, head of DVB’s chemical, LPG and product tanker group, who worked closely with his colleague Domenik Nizet, said: “This transaction further underscores DVB’s commitment to the sector and our ability to provide comprehensive solutions to our clients. We are very pleased with the support we received from WFW and look forward to executing many more successful transactions in the space.”
