Posted on: 8 November 2021
Watson Farley & Williams (WFW) has advised CIT Bank N.A (CIT) regarding a US$70m loan granted to a Maltese subsidiary of Maritime Asset Partners Ltd. (MAP), in order to back leverage the sale and leaseback of 11 dry bulk vessels comprising the fleet of Sterling LLC (Sterling). This deal marks the third occasion that CIT has worked with MAP on a shipping loan.
NYSE-listed CIT is a financial and bank holding company incorporated in Delaware and headquartered in New York City. It provides financing to a wide range of industries, including aerospace and defence, transport, communication, energy, hospitality, healthcare and technology.
MAP is a specialised finance platform focussed on providing leasing, secured lending and structured equity solutions for commodity and industrial shipping as well as the offshore oil and gas industries.
Sterling runs a fleet of 11 handysize bulkers, a majority of which have previously been financed by CIT. As a result of this refinancing, Sterling is now solely controlled by Dalex Shipping, a Greek shipping company with a long history of operating dry bulk vessels, having been set up initially as a joint venture between Dalex and private equity firm The Carlyle Group.
The cross-border WFW Assets & Structured Finance team advising CIT was led by London Partner Kavita Shah, supported by Partner Gary Walsh, Associates Sabrina Chong and Hollie Pickering and Trainees Marili Haraka and Jack Oldbury. New York Partner John Benson and Counsel Maxi Adamski-de Visser separately acted as New York and Marshall Islands counsel to CIT.
Kavita comments: “As a leading maritime law firm we are delighted to have supported CIT in its efforts to further strengthen its long-standing business relationships with MAP and Sterling. This deal showcases the seamless cross-border collaboration between our London and New York offices and highlights WFW’s global expertise in maritime finance”.
Enrique Sibauste of Patton, Moreno & Asvat assisted with the Panamanian law aspects of the transaction and Matthew Xerri, Daniel Aquilina and Marcus Rizzo Naudi of Ganado Advocates assisted with the Maltese law aspects.
