GREEK shipping technology provider Danaos Management Consultants and Greek digital procurement firm Procureship have both had the majority of the shares bought out by a San Francisco-based private equity firm with no previous history of maritime investment.

While Danaos and Procureship are set to be run independently and retain much of the existing management, the strategic investments means that the US fund now controls majority shareholdings across both businesses.

Lloyd’s List understands that the fund is looking at further strategic investments in other businesses in the maritime digital space.

While Danaos and Procureship now have a common owner, both businesses have made clear that the deal does not represent a merger.

The appointed management team representing the fund are currently briefing existing clients, which includes George Economou’s TMS and Tsakos Energy Navigation, on the details of the changes before the deal is formally announced.

Danaos Management Consultants has been offering IT solutions for the maritime industry since its inception in 1986, making it one of the oldest firms in the sector. It is also one of the larger providers, with more than 6,500 vessels globally using Danaos software.

The Piraeus-based firm, which was a privately owned subsidiary of the John Coustas-led New York Stock Exchange listed shipping company Danaos Corporation, builds software tools for shipmanagement, including applications for chartering, payroll, crewing, AI analytics, ISM, document management and procurement.

Athens-based Procureship, meanwhile, has been growing internationally with a recent expansion into Asia via a new Singapore office, building on its existing bases in Greece and Denmark.

Co-founded by entrepreneurs Grigoris Lamprou and Aris Manassakis in 2016, Procureship has been competing against a rapidly consolidating market of e-procurement platforms, but has emerged as one of the largest.

The combination of the two businesses comes amid a rapid period of consolidation among shipping tech firms and increasing interest from private equity.

The US investment firm that has bought both Danaos and Procureship has industry experience across software, data analytics and financial technology, but Lloyd’s List understands this deal is the fund’s first foray into the maritime space.

None of the companies involved have formally announced the investments amid concerns about becoming a target for cyber attacks while the new structures are being put together, however, the deal is now an “open secret” in the Greek market following a round of client briefings this week in Athens and last week during Nor-Shipping in Oslo.

The identity of the new leadership team for the US fund, which is already exploring additional investments, is yet to be formally announced. However, it is understood that a chief executive with recent experience consolidating maritime technology businesses, has already been appointed.

Clarification

An earlier version of this story stated that Danaos Management Consultant and Procureship were being merged as part of the strategic investment from a US fund. That is not correct. Both businesses will continue to be run independently while sharing the same majority shareholder.