[191219.EN.BIZ] Textainer to Buy LAPCO in US66m Deal

TEXTAINER Group Holdings (TGH) says its wholly-owned subsidiary, Textainer Ltd, has entered into an agreement to purchase Leased Assets Pool Company Ltd (LAPCO) for US$66 million in cash. The deal comprises assets of $192 million less outstanding debt of $126 million.

"The company intends to repay LAPCO's existing debt at the closing and refinance the LAPCO containers which are managed by Textainer in one or more of the company's existing revolving credit facilities. The transaction is subject to certain closing conditions and is expected to close by year-end," said TGH, London-area WorldCargo News reported.

LAPCO's container fleet consists of 163,000 TEU managed by Textainer and 3,000 TEU managed by other container lessors. LAPCO is an indirect subsidiary of Trencor Ltd, which owns 48 per cent of Textainer's common shares. The percentage of Textainer's owned fleet will rise to 85.4 per cent from 80.8 per cent following the acquisition's close.

"We are very pleased with this acquisition which is in line with our strategy of focusing on our core container leasing business and bottom line.

"This acquisition of a large and seasoned portfolio of containers we already manage allows us to allocate capex which will generate immediate contribution to our bottom line while minimising risks normally associated with external fleet purchases," said TGH chief executive officer Olivier Ghesquiere.

Source : HKSG.