CMES reboots Antong takeover via stake acquisition

CHINA Merchants Energy Shipping’s unit plans to acquire a 13.8% controlling stake in Antong Holdings, reviving its bid for control through a reworked approach after an earlier restructuring deal collapsed.

Sinotrans Container Lines, a subsidiary of CMES, is set to acquire up to a 13.8% stake in Antong, a Quanzhou-based container shipping company, for no more than Yuan1.8bn ($248m) through a combination of block trades and negotiated transfers. Upon completion, Sinotrans and its concert parties will become the largest shareholder of Antong, CMES said in an exchange filing.

Several weeks ago, CMES and Antong called off their long-discussed restructuring deal, ending nearly a year of planning and setbacks. On May 27, CMES stated in a filing that the parties had failed to reach consensus on key terms of the deal, adding that market conditions and the target company’s situation had shifted since the restructuring was first proposed.

The earlier plan, announced in May 2024, involved Antong issuing shares to CMES in exchange for full ownership of Sinolines and a 70% stake in CMES RoRo, its car shipping subsidiary. The transactions would see CMES become the controlling shareholder of Antong, while China Merchants Group, which led Antong’s debt restructuring in 2020, would be its ultimate controller.

“There have long been questions about the viability of this spin-off plan,” a securities analyst told Lloyd’s List. “The proposed spin-off of CMES RoRo may not align with regulatory requirements, and CMES has given inconsistent explanations about how Sinolines fits with its existing business.”

However, the collapse of the restructuring deal between CMES and Antong in May did little to deter China Merchants Energy Shipping from reshaping its container shipping segment. Instead, the company shifted to a refreshed acquisition plan through Sinolines within two months.

Data from Alphaliner show that Sinolines operates 41 vessels focused on foreign trade feeder services, while Antong runs 75 ships on domestic coastal routes. Together, their combined fleet of over 130,000 teu, and with industry estimates combined, they could rank among the world’s top 20 container carriers.