International private equity funds have some Italian shipping companies in their radar as many of them are weighted by heavy debts, MF Shipping & Logistica writes today.
Premuda and Rbd Armatori are now controlled by Pillarstone Italy (see ahere a previous post by  BeBeez), while Giuseppe Bottiglieri Shipping Company is waiting for approval by creditors of a restructuring plan which has been put forward by the Bottiglieri family together with  Bain Capital (see here a previous post by BeBeez).
Another shipping company,  Ravenna headquartered Bambini srl , filed Ravenna Court for creditor protection and was admitted to procedure last June 1st. Founded in 1962, the company is active in offshore supply and towage, provinding services such as workforce transport, drinking water and fuel supply, hazardous materials transport (radioactive substances and waste), to diving, ROV and survey assistance, anchor handling, anti-pollution and rec-oil.
The entrepreneur Gianni Bambini is expected to deliver the Court a strategic plan to restrucutre the company in the next few months. Bambini closed FY 2016 with 20,7 million euros in revenues down from 2015 and 2014, a negative ebitda of 1.37 million euros, a net less og 3.6 millions and a net financial debt of 40 millions  (see here an analysis by Leanus, after free registration and login).
Another shipping company whom private equity funds are looking at is Gestioni Armatoriali operating 12 ships (9 bulk carrier and 3 tankers) and  Perseveranza di Navigazione owning 9 ships (5 bulk carriers and 4 tankers).
As for Gestioni Armatoriali, the company file for creditors protection in February 2016 just after Deutsche Bank arrested in Panama the ship Mare di Venezia which was the collateral for a Detusche bank loan to the company (see here a previous post by eBeez). Deutsche Bank had bought that loan from Commerzbank in 2015 togheter with other loans to Gestioni Armatoriali for a total GBV of 91 million euros financing the acquisition of 4 ships. The ship Mare di Venezia was then left free to leave Panama in September 2016.
The shipping compaby is said to have a total banking debt of 285.7 million euros versus Deutsche Bank nd a nuber of Italian banks such as Mps, Banco di Napoli, Banca Popolare di Novara and Interbanca. At the end of last year the company was trying to find an agreement with its lendig banks to restructure its debts.
