Chicago-based private equity firm GTCR has formed a partnership with well-known shipping investment consultant Manish Singh, understood to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars, to acquire maritime tech companies.
Singh will serve as CEO of the newly formed Maris Investments, which has also made an investment alongside GTCR.
Singh, a former seafarer, was previously CEO of Ocean Technologies Group, a platform recently acquired by Lloyd’s Register, and before that was with V.Group.
In a release, Maris said it will seek to acquire companies in the maritime technology sector to build a market-leading platform addressing critical workflows and enabling digital transformation in the industry.
“We are excited to partner with Manish, whose proven track record, deep domain expertise and industry relationships in the maritime space make him an ideal partner to lead this platform,” said Mark Anderson, managing director and head of technology, media and telecommunications at GTCR.
“Maritime technology is a compelling industry currently experiencing rapid and transformative digital innovation, and we look forward to leveraging GTCR’s long history of investing in vertical technology businesses to build a market-leading maritime technology company.”
Since its inception in 1980, GTCR has invested more than $30bn in over 280 companies, and the firm currently manages approximately $50bn in equity capital.
For his part, Singh commented that Maris aims to redefine how maritime workforces and fleets adopt integrated technology and harness data to improve performance, safety and compliance.
“This partnership is about transforming how future fleets are operated and governed,” Singh said.
