Hansa in line for £121m windfall from Brazilian port operator sale

Hansa Trust’s largest holding, Ocean Wilsons, offloads its majority stake in Brazilian port operator Wilson Sons, readying shareholders for a payout.

Salomon banking family-backed Hansa (HANA ) is in line for a windfall after its largest holding, Ocean Wilsons (OCN), agreed to sell its controlling stake in Brazilian port operator Wilson Sons as part of a strategic review of its shipping business.

Shares in the global equities investment trust, which trade at a long-standing discount of nearly 40% to net asset value (NAV), initally jumped 6% on 21 October after Ocean Wilsons confirmed the sale, which was first mooted in summer 2023.

Bermuda-based but London-listed Ocean Wilsons accounts for just under 30% of Hansa, sitting alongside a funds portfolio run by Alec Letchfield. It confirmed its subsidiary OW Overseas Investments will sell its 56.4% stake in Wilson Sons to SAS Shipping Agencies Services, part of MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, a private Swiss business.

The sale is valued at £587.5m and Ocean Wilsons said it expects net proceeds to be at least $593m (£456m), with a ‘meaningful proportion’ returned to shareholders ‘by way of a special dividend or a share buyback programme, or a combination of the two’.

Ash Nandi, analyst at Deutsche Numis, calculated that Hansa’s stake would be valued at £121m versus a carrying value of £97.1m at the end of September.

‘The transaction may reduce the concentration of Hansa’s portfolio or provide scope to return capital,’ she said.

Caroline Foulger, chair of Ocean Wilsons, said the sale followed a ‘comprehensive strategic review of the company’s investment in Wilson Sons’.

‘This transaction represents the successful realisation of our long-term investment in Wilson Sons, demonstrating our ability to identify opportunities to create significant value for our shareholders,’ she said.

Foulger said since its initial investment in Wilson Sons, the group has ‘demonstrated significant financial growth and today is the largest integrated port and maritime logistics operator in Brazil’.

Since a 2021 strategic review of Wilson Sons, the shares have surged by 66%.

‘The board believes that it is a compelling time to realise its investment,’ she said.

‘This is an exciting time for Ocean Wilsons, and we remain committed to maximising shareholder value through strategic decision-making and disciplined investment growth.’

The board of Hansa, which was formed in 1912 to invest in Brazilian forestry and is chaired by Jonathan Davie, said it was ‘pleased’ that Ocean Wilsons had completed the review of Wilson Sons.

‘In due course, the Hansa board looks forward to engaging with Ocean Wilsons as it consults with its shareholders regarding the allocation and deployment of the net sale proceeds of the transaction,’ it said in a stock market announcement.

Hansa’s non-voting A-shares have enjoyed a strong 12 months, up 26% in the wake of the review of Wilson Sons. Longer-term returns have been more pedestrian. While the portfolio’s underlying return of 89.7% over 10 years is in line with other defensive trusts such as Capital Gearing (CGT ) and Personal Assets (PNL ), due to the wide discount, the shares have delivered just 51.4%.