Beluga Shipping, the German heavy lift and project cargo shipping line, plans to take over rival U.S. carrier Intermarine, according to media reports.

Negotiations to acquire New Orleans-based Intermarine are "well advanced," said Bremen newspaper Weser-Kurier.

Beluga, which is headquartered in Bremen, so far has not commented on the report. Intermarine's majority owner, New York-based New Mountain Capital denied the reports.

The reported bid comes less than two months after Beluga announced Los Angeles-based private equity group Oaktree Capital Management had invested $260 million and acquired an undisclosed minority stake in the heavy lift carrier.

Oaktree said it would finance privately-owned Beluga's strategic growth including the purchase of a new generation of specialized vessels.

Intermarine, which has a fleet of around 30 ships and eight on order, is majority owned by New Mountain Capital, a New York-based private equity company.

Beluga, which has a fleet of around 70 multi purpose heavy lift ships and some chartered-out container vessels, booked a profit of $26 million on revenue of $540 million in 2009.
(Source:www.joc.com)