Slaughter and May is advising Ocean Wilsons Holdings Limited (“Ocean Wilsons”) on its proposed return of up to £123 million to shareholders by way of tender offer and on its possible combination with Hansa Investment Company Limited (“Hansa”).
Under the possible combination with Hansa, Hansa would acquire the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Ocean Wilsons by way of a Bermudian scheme of arrangement to create an investment company with total net assets of in excess of £900 million.
The possible combination would bring together Hansa and Ocean Wilsons to create a differentiated investment company of meaningful scale with a diversified, global portfolio of investment funds, direct equities and private assets, which the Boards of Ocean Wilsons and Hansa believe would create a strong platform for long-term value creation.
Ocean Wilsons is an investment holding company listed on both the London Stock Exchange and the Bermuda Stock Exchange whose business comprises an actively managed diversified portfolio of international investments. Hansa is a Bermuda closed-ended investment company listed on the London Stock Exchange whose investment objective is to grow net assets over the medium to long term by investing in a diversified and multi-strategy portfolio comprising third-party funds, global equities and other international financial securities. Hansa holds a strategic position in Ocean Wilsons which currently represents its largest holding.
