ICAP Shipping and Howe Robinson merger talks confirmed

The talks are with a view to merging Howe Robinson and ICAP Shipping to create a new shipbroking firm that would be up and running in the second quarter of 2015.

“Howe Robinson and ICAP Shipping are highly complementary in terms of products and geographies,” ICAP said in statement. “The combined entity will be able to better service the diverse needs of clients operating across multiple locations and market segments, now and in the future.”

Howe Robinson has a 150 staff in six offices worldwide, while ICAP Shipping has 196 employees in 10 offices. Howe Robinson specialises in the dry cargo and containership sectors, and ICAP Shipping is active in the wet and dry cargo sectors, offshore and FFAs. ICAP moved into shipbroking in 2007 with the purchase of JE Hyde.

The news comes less that a week after Clarksons confirmed it was in talks to buy Norwegian rival RS Platou. In a trend of consolidation in the shipbroking sector in July July Braemar Shipping Services completed a merger with ACM Shipbroking, which created Braemar ACM Shipbroking.