LONDON, UK: Braemar Plc (LSE: BMS) announced the strategic acquisition of Southport Maritime Inc. in the USA.

The consideration comprises $7.25m in cash paid on completion, together with up to 1,888,942 Braemar Ordinary Shares, which will be delivered on the third anniversary of the transaction. The share consideration is to be issued to the previous owners of the business and certain other employees, contingent on them remaining employed in the business for the full three-year period.

Braemar Plc is a leading international shipbroker and provider of expert investment, chartering, and risk management advice to the shipping and energy markets.

Enhancing the Group’s coverage in the Americas has been an important strategic goal of Braemar since the board launched its growth agenda in November 2021.

Southport Maritime is one of the highest volume US-based shipbroking tanker companies. They are recognised as a leader for crude and refined products in the North American export market, as well as in the Latin American and Caribbean markets.

With a particular focus on spot tanker fixtures, Southport’s 18-strong team has a reputation for high performance within the industry.

Since it was founded, Southport Maritime has enabled its clients to transport billions of barrels of liquid petroleum and oil products worldwide, helping them to benefit from both short-term volatility and long-term industry trends.

The Southport Maritime team complements Braemar’s existing Tanker desks in London, Singapore, Madrid, Houston, and Geneva, as well as significantly enhancing Braemar’s presence in the Americas.

Braemar’s new offices in West Palm Beach and Winter Park Florida, will continue to be led by Michael Corey and Peter Tornaben from Southport.

The new offices augment the Group’s existing regional coverage in Houston and Sao Paulo, and these combined locations provide the ideal platform for the Group to penetrate the North and South American markets and add further scale to the Group’s activities.

The transaction is expected to be earnings enhancing for the year ending February 2024. Southport’s gross assets at completion are estimated to be $6.4m. In the year to 31 December 2021, Southport made a profit before tax of $1.1m with an average of $1.5m profit before tax in the three years ended 31 December 2021.

Tris Simmonds, Braemar COO, said, “The acquisition of Southport represents the next key component of our global growth plan.

Michael Corey and Peter Tornaben are extremely well-recognised figures in the North American shipping markets, and they and the team at Southport have an exceptional reputation. We have conducted a long process to find the right partner and have a well-established relationship with Southport. In their professionalism, dedication, and integrity we see a team that shares similar values to our own.

“There are significant growth opportunities in the North and South American markets and the team at Southport will play a key part in helping the Group deliver on that potential.”

Michael Corey and Peter Tornaben, co-founders of Southport Maritime, said, “When we started this company thirty years ago, our primary objective was to provide our customers with timely dissemination of market intelligence and assist them in monetizing that information.

For us, this is the logical step in continuing Southport’s core mission. Being under the Braemar umbrella will enable our team to bring our boutique service to the next level across a significantly larger global platform. It will also allow us to provide a wider array of products and services, and enable us to create additional value for our clients as we move forward in this competitive brokering landscape while remaining as Southport Maritime.”