Ezion-Yinson deal - a marriage made in heaven

BY most accounts, Ezion Holdings, one of many in Singapore's crisis-beaten offshore and marine space, is closing in on the finish line of a prolonged hazardous trek and could soon come out the other side weary but not defeated - and better still, bulkier.

After a drawn-out hunt, the company that has been hounded by debt and a cash crunch and steeped in red ink over the past three years, has found safe harbour in Malaysian-listed Yinson Holdings.

The somewhat convoluted proposal, that requires shareholders' blessings, will see Yinson play a bigger role than a strategic investor which Ezion had earlier alluded to. It essentially involves Yinson erasing some US$916 million in debt owed by Ezion and getting new shares in turn.