Is a ‘perennial’ merger candidate ripe to be plucked after changes at Ardmore?
Joe Brady
Ardmore Shipping was once described by chief executive Anthony Gurnee as “the perennial candidate” in merger-and-acquisitions rumours.
So are those rumours going to spark up again, given Gurnee’s surprise retirement announcement?
With a fleet of 22 owned tankers and a market capitalisation of around $850m, Ardmore is the perfect size for such rumours, because it is midway between being a small shipowner and a big one with the scale necessary to be an industry consolidator.
But Gurnee’s departure — said to be the result of a “long-established” succession plan — does not in itself increase the likelihood of the Ireland-based owner coming into play, in the view of one veteran finance man.