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egan, a graduate of SUNY as monitoring supplemental shipping of 2004 – 2007, but also in response to of debt into equity (shares). The new

Maritime College at Fort investments throughout Apollo which mini-boomlets in 2010 and 2013. Genco shareholders continued to seek changes

Schuyler, commenced his included a range of structures including Shipping & Trading, which originally in how the company was run, resetting maritime industry career Preferred Equity, Mezzanine debt, First went public in shipping’s continuing Ini- the Board as Apollo (and a handful of

Rat sea, rising through the Lien Mortgages and acquisition ? nanc- tial Public Offering (IPO) boom in 2005, other ? nancial players) anteed up and shipboard of? cer ranks completing as a ing across both an International and U.S. was a high ? ier stock for a while, sink- purchased additional shares, an impor-

Master Mariner during a more than ten- Jones Act scope. ing down to earth as the overall dry bulk tant enabler for Genco to enter into a year period sailing on oil tankers and dry Financial investors are always looking ? eet on order began to rival the aggregate major re? nancing of its bank debt (sim- bulk vessels. From there Regan negoti- for eventual exits for their investments tonnage actually on the water. In 2014 pli? ed, with three lenders instead of ated deals for StenTex and Stena Bulk, since the funds they are responsible to Genco declared bankruptcy and through nine). By this time, Apollo’s equity stake before taking the founding role of Presi- invest typically have ? xed periods of that process and subsequent company in GNK had grown to nearly 16%. In dent and CEO at Arlington Tankers, a investment duration. In 2014, Principal debt to equity conversions, came under October, 2016, Regan, who had joined

Stena offshoot at the leading edge of the Maritime looked to ? oat the Suezmax the signi? cant ownership of a number of the Board earlier that year, was elected wave of Initial Public Offerings gather- tanker investment through an Initial Pub- ? nancial investors, including funds man- the Interim Executive Chairman. At ing momentum in 2004. lic Offering, however Apollo withdrew aged by Centerbridge Partners, Strategic that time, he began setting Genco’s new

Following the acquisition of Arlington from the process as public market valu- Value Partners, and Apollo Global Man- course; the correction took more than a by General Maritime Corp in an all-stock ation at that moment did not meet Apol- agement. year. deal in 2008, Regan set a course to align lo’s price expectations. In late 2015, as Around 2016, many traditional fund- Art Regan describes the new strategic with the beginnings of another wave of the cyclically volatile tanker market was ing sources, notably European banks, course embarked on by the Board, in late fresh capital into shipping - the in? ow cresting, Regan was able to successfully began pulling back from ? nancing ship- 2016. “The plan had several steps; ? rst of ? nancial investors, notably packagers complete the sale of Apollo’s dozen Su- ping companies, with some exiting the to recapitalize Genco through a substan- of private equity funds. In 2010, Regan ezmax vessel bloc to Teekay Tankers business completely and selling their tial equity injection, which allowed its moved over to Apollo Global Manage- (NYSE: TNK), for $662 million, with loans on to distressed debt investors. commercial banks to waive debt amor- ment, where he launched their ship man- the majority of proceeds received in cash And while the dry bulk freight market tization for enough time to allow the agement and advisory entity, Principal along with a portion of Teekay Tankers had experienced a welcome period of revitalization plan to take hold, in what

Maritime, which serviced maritime in- stock, which was then later sold prior to improvement during late 2014 and into was anticipated to eventually be an im- vestment holdings in the Apollo family. yearend 2015 at a premium for Apollo 2015, the freight rates were not enough proving freight market. Next step was to

At that time Apollo had already invest- versus the ? eet cash sale price. to keep the sector away from serious ? - orchestrate conversion of the company’s ed in the maritime sector through their While the tanker market, fueled by nancial distress once again, and as 2016 commercial strategy from passive to ac- recapitalization of Norwegian Cruise outsized cargoes being moved and began the sector was in dire need of ? - tive customer engagement.”

Lines. At Principal Maritime, Regan cre- stored, was doing well through 2015, nancial restructuring. On the last point, Regan tells Maritime ated Veritable Maritime Holdings, a Su- the dry bulk shipping market at the time After the 2014 bankruptcy, Apollo Reporter, “Since the end of 2016 Genco ezmax crude oil tanker investment, and had been languishing due to oversup- had already emerged as the third larg- has been developed into an active com-

Princimar Chemical Carriers, an owner ply of vessels. Huge building programs est shareholder (with 10.7% of Genco’s mercial platform, servicing both major of specialty chemical tankers. as well in China came out of the super-cycle shares), following the earlier conversion and minor bulk commodity producers 72 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • AUGUST 2018

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