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Hartnoll’s HICO Investment acquires BTL and Caribbean Feeder Service

Photo: CFS Caribbean Feeders Services vessel at port
HICO Investment Group, a trust owned by the Hartnoll family, is expanding its shipping related holdings acquiring Bengal Tiger Line (BTL) and Caribbean Feeder Service (CFS).

The acquisition of BTL sees the Singapore-based feeder container ship company has been sold to the owners of larger competitor X-Press Feeders.

BTL was acquired in 2018 by Singapore-based private equity firm CMIA Capital Partners from founding shareholders Schoeller Holdings and Transnaval Schiffahrt.

“The change of ownership from CMIA Capital Partners to HICO will not see any change in the management structure of Bengal Tiger Line, and the day-to-day business will remain as status quo and will continue without any form of disruption,” BTL said in a statement.

BTL was incorporated in Hamburg in 1986 and transferred its registry and headquarters to Singapore in 2009. The company mainly operates around the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and the Arabian Gulf, with chartered vessels.

The acquisition of CFS by HICO was agreed with Pérez y Cía Group, who will continue to be a key shareholder.

Caribbean Feeder Service (CFS), has 16 ships and a total operating capacity of just over 16,000 slots. CFS, founded in 1999, is the largest independent feeder operator serving the Caribbean, Central America, Colombia and Venezuela. Pérez y Cía Group took over the company four years ago.

In September 2021 Pérez y Cía partnered with HICO to acquire Singapore-based Britoil Offshore Services.

BTL and CFS operate an asset-lite strategy, sourcing all their vessel capacity requirements from the charter market.

HICO has also invested in Israeli tracking solutions provider Hoopo and UK-based small-scale atomic reactor company Core Power.