A marriage could be underway between BW LPG and Dorian LPG, after the former recently made an offer to buy the competitor.

But Dorian LPG does not mention a word about the proposal in its report for the displaced fiscal year 2017/2018, published Friday.

Dorian instead merely comments on developments in the VLGC market and publishes its results for the period.

The gas shipping company's revenue in 2017/2018 came to USD 159 million, slightly down USD 167 million the year before.

The result was negative, as the company reports a net deficit of USD 20 million, a significant setback from a deficit of USD 1.4 million in 2016/2017.

"The VLGC orderbook stands at 12.5% of the current fleet with another three ships scheduled for delivery this year. A further 30 VLGCs, equivalent to approximately 2.5 million cbm of carrying capacity, will be added to the fleet by year end 2020," writes Dorian LPG.

Leading share in the LPG market

The acquisition bid from BW LPG has a total value of USD 1.1 billion, and would mean that shareholders in the US-based gas carrier get two shares for each share they own today. If they accept, they would also become co-owners of the world's largest listed LPG carrier, Singapore-based BW LPG.

"We think this could create bellwether LPG shipping stock," said BW LPG CEO Martin Ackermann when the offer was announced.

"It would attract a broader investor base, and we think the combined entity with a much greater market cap will create an even stronger attention and that it would improve the liquidity of the stock as well. For both clients and shareholders we think this is a good deal," he said.

English Edit: Daniel Logan Berg-Munch

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