Oslo-based specialist Marine MGA Hydor AS has merged with Singapore- and Rotterdam-based marine MGA EF Marine Pte Ltd and its subsidiary. The combined company will be known as Hydor and will employ a team of 34 people, with its head office in Oslo, plus units in Rotterdam, Hamburg, Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai.
The merger will take place through Hydor acquiring all the shares of EF Marine. It follows an investment in April 2022 by Longship Fund II into Hydor in April 2022. Hydor said that the acquisition represented “an important non-organic step in developing and growing Hydor further”.
Morten Skomsøy, current CEO of Hydor and wo will be chief underwriting officer in the combined entity, said that “the acquisition of EF Marine represents a perfect fit for Hydor with EF Marine being a company of equal size and providing complementing geographical footprint, limited common producing brokers and no overlapping accounts, all within the common space of fixed premium P&I insurance.”
The expanded Hydor will generate premium income of some $40m a year. Hydor will continue to focus on fixed premium P&I cover for Shipowners and Charterers with limits up to $1bn, plus optional FD&D insurance. The company will continue to provide war cover and ancillary products to its clients. The company is also doing Energy, Marine Hull and Machinery and Marine Cargo insurance
Following the acquisition the larger Hydor will be owned by Longship, Johan Gjernes, Morten Skomsøy and Folkert Strengholt, all of whom will be shareholders. From August 4th Folkert Strengholt will be the new Chief Executive Officer of Hydor, forming the management team together with Erik Bøhm (Chief Financial Officer), Johan Gjernes (Chief Business Development), Morten Skomsøy (Chief Underwriting Officer) and Eglantine Bentz (Chief Claims Officer).
Hydor was founded in 2010 and is a Norway-based, marine-focused MGA offering fixed premium P&I insurance mainly targeting the smaller vessel segment including offshore supply, tugs, fishing, research vessels, bulkers, cargo, and tankers. The key segment is P&I for owners and charterers, but Hydor also offers specialist operations coverage and FD&D insurance. Hydor is backed by Lloyds’ syndicates and currently provides insurance for more than 2,500 ships globally. The company also has its own insurance capacity – Hydor Insurance Ltd – established in Guernsey. It has 13 employees.
EF Marine was established in 2019 and is a Fixed Premium P&I specialist underwriting agency with a focus on Shipowners P&I, Charterers Liability, MultiModal and Ancillary covers. EF Marine has been specializing in smaller and specialist vessels (non-cargo carrying vessels) such as offshore support and supply vessels, tugs, barges, dredgers, fishing vessels, yachts, and other specialist craft, making up some 50% of the total fleet. Between the current offices in Singapore and Rotterdam the company has 16 employees.
Longship is a Norwegian-based private equity investor established in 2015. Longship invests in companies with a significant growth potential in the Norwegian lower mid-market.