(Yicai Global) May 31 -- Chinese shipping firm China Merchants Energy Shipping Co. [SHA:601872] has proposed to acquire several domestic and foreign subsidiaries of China Sinomarine Shipping Co., an affiliate of the buyer's controller, China Merchants Group, the listed company said.

The target assets have yet to be determined, but asset valuation is underway and share trading will remain suspended, the statement added, but did not close the exact value of the acquisition.

Sinomarine is China Merchants Group's shipping arm, and has assets worth CNY35 billion (USD5 billion), including 211 vessels, industry media outlet Ship.sh reported. It runs 10 distribution companies, including Hong Kong-based Sinotrans Shipping Ltd [HKG:0368], Nanjing Tanker Corp., Shenzhen CSC RoRo Logistics Co. and China National Chartering Co., and gained branches in Canada, Germany, Singapore and Hong Kong after an equity investment in China VLCC.

The deal indicates that China Merchants Energy Shipping is well on track to become a professional provider of integrated shipping services, Ship.sh added.