Hamburg – Long-established shipping company John T. Essberger has acquired Crystal Nordic, a Denmark-based operator of 14 chemical tankers. The vendors are Nordic Tankers and Embarcadero Maritime.

A CMS team headed by Dr Christian v. Lenthe and Dr Marc Riede advised John T. Essberger on all legal aspects of the transaction. On the Danish side, CMS Germany cooperated with Danish law firm Kromann Reumert. The purchase price was not disclosed.

John T. Essberger is a leading owner and operator of chemical tankers in Europe. The company’s fleet comprises 23 ships, which are capable of transporting a wide range of different chemicals. One of the aims of acquiring Crystal Nordic is to boost utilisation of the combined fleet.

Crystal Nordic is an operator of chemical tankers headquartered in Denmark. It owns 14 ships with a capacity of between 4,000 and 12,000 DWT, mainly serving customers in Northern Europe. Crystal Nordic has expanded its business portfolio since it was formed in 2015. Nordic Tankers and Embarcadero Maritime each own half of the company. Nordic Tankers is a Triton Fund III portfolio company. Embarcadero Maritime is a joint venture between Borealis Maritime and KKR, which held Crystal Nordic jointly.

CMS Germany

Dr Christian v. Lenthe, Lead Partner
Dr Jacob Siebert, Partner
Dr Friederike Volkmann, Senior Associate
Laura Moosleitner, Associate
Dr Luise Bochmann, Associate, all Corporate
Dr Marc Riede, Lead Partner
Dr Thomas de la Motte, Partner
Mark Warren, Associate
Dr Jasper Stallmann, Senior Associate, all Banking and Finance
Dr Markus Schöner, Partner
Christoff Henrik Soltau, Counsel
Dr Denis Schlimpert, Associate, all Competition
Dr Jost Kienzle, Partner
Dr Jenny Buchner, Senior Associate
Simon Sparkes, Senior Associate, all Maritime
Heino Büsching, Partner, Tax
Petra Goldenbaum, Counsel, Intellectual Property