AMA sets sights on other forms of transport this year.

(From Lloyds List)

Byline: New look, new premises for merchant bank, writes Rajesh Joshi in New York

A DIVERSIFICATION into transport sectors such as aviation, railways and US domestic logistics is a cornerstone of American Marine Advisors' strategy for 2005, as the merchant bank prepares to move into spacious new offices in New York this spring.

A change in the firm name will be unveiled this month to reflect AMA's wider aspirations, Lloyd's List can reveal.

Tied in with this shift, AMA chief executive Paul M Leand Jr said, is a desire to re-start the firm's investment side, in which capacity it has launched investment funds in the past. However, 'finding the right people' remains the key to these twin objectives, he stressed.

'This can happen only if we find people who complement and do not distract from the core of AMA,' he said. 'Obviously, we need the right people if we are to invest beyond shipping.'

Before joining AMA in 1998, Mr Leand managed the First National Bank of Maryland's railroad division. While declining to elaborate, he said 'negotiations with specific [non-shipping] partners were on', and AMA's involvement would probably commence with mezzanine finance and equity vehicles.