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Robert Fairchild #3
Exit Strategy
When ESG concerns cause Reeperbahn Landesbank to sell his $750 million credit facility to “Loan-Own-Capital,” a New York distressed fund, Norwegian shipping magnate Coco Jacobsen is forced to make a tough decision: put in another $100 million to defend his fossil fuel dependent company — or toss the keys to the hedge fund and disappear on his yacht. But when Coco learns that one of his lenders is a Sopranos-style money laundering operation that doesn't take kindly to losing money, he enlists his estranged CFO, Robert Fairchild, to get creative about saving his fleet — and maybe even the entire shipping industry. Exit Strategy is the third book in The Shipping Man trilogy.
For readers new to the shipping industry, Matt McCleery's novels are a unique blend of fact and fiction that provide an entertaining and educational glimpse into the world of international ocean shipping and global capital markets. For shipowners, financiers and other industry insiders, the books are an affectionate celebration of the unique characters and timeless traditions that make the maritime industry so special.
Featuring fictional characters, transactions and plots, the books offer fun, fast-paced and easily accessible insight into the complex topics including commodity trading and transportation, ship owning, asset finance, hedge funds, public equity, project financing, transactional law, asset valuation, private equity, high yield bonds, mergers and acquisitions, bankruptcy and reorganization.
Since the publication of the first book in 2011, The Shipping Man trilogy has sold tens of thousands of copies and have been actively used by universities, business schools and maritime colleges and in the training programs of shipping companies, ship finance banks and multi-sector value investment funds around the world.
For readers new to the shipping industry, Matt McCleery's novels are a unique blend of fact and fiction that provide an entertaining and educational glimpse into the world of international ocean shipping and global capital markets. For shipowners, financiers and other industry insiders, the books are an affectionate celebration of the unique characters and timeless traditions that make the maritime industry so special.
Featuring fictional characters, transactions and plots, the books offer fun, fast-paced and easily accessible insight into the complex topics including commodity trading and transportation, ship owning, asset finance, hedge funds, public equity, project financing, transactional law, asset valuation, private equity, high yield bonds, mergers and acquisitions, bankruptcy and reorganization.
Since the publication of the first book in 2011, The Shipping Man trilogy has sold tens of thousands of copies and have been actively used by universities, business schools and maritime colleges and in the training programs of shipping companies, ship finance banks and multi-sector value investment funds around the world.
322 pages, Paperback
Published August 30, 2020
About the author
Matthew McCleery
8 books28 followersMatt McCleery is the President of Marine Money and Managing Director of Blue Sea Capital, Inc. where he advises shipowners and investors on ship financing and investment transactions. He can be reached at mmccleery@marinemoney.com.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 20, 2022
A decent ending to the whole Robert and Coco saga, but not as fun as the two previous books.
January 20, 2023
Several plot holes you could float a VLCC through.
July 19, 2025
A hat-trick of fun, funny & educational reads. Hopefully some more to come!
July 9, 2021
Exit Strategy is a fiction taking place in the shipping business world.
I work in shipping and the accuracy of the story is so good that at the beginning of the book, not knowing what to expect, I had moments when I was feeling like I was actually working! What are the financing options? How should we structure the deal? What will be the IRR for the investors? So, in the shipping niche, I find that Matthew McCleery has done an excellent book in conveying the complexity, the lively dynamics, the variety of characters and the rollercoaster volatility.
Why 3 stars only? I give 5 stars to books that I couldn’t put down and that I will recommend. This is not the case here, because as much as the fiction simplified the shipping intricacies, I still think it’s a novel for a few shipping geeks, like me. A bit too many technicalities for the outsiders.
Then from 4 stars down to 3 as I really am not a Coco fan. He is quite the shark character, proudly so, putting Robert Fairchild in impossible situations. While I understand the tension is good for the thriller plot, and indeed had me hooked on wondering how can he possibly dig himself out of such a situation, I would have not necessarily made Coco the shipping hero. There are shipping businessmen who make tough calls, without burning so many bridges. I found the characters a bit too extreme and the ending a bit too fictional to rate it a full 4 stars.
I might try The Shipping Man book: the writing style is enjoyable and, being the first book, maybe the plot will be less extreme.
Congratulations to Matthew McCleery for managing to combine shipping finance with fiction. I would have not thought of it neither would have considered it possible, and instead he succeeded.
I work in shipping and the accuracy of the story is so good that at the beginning of the book, not knowing what to expect, I had moments when I was feeling like I was actually working! What are the financing options? How should we structure the deal? What will be the IRR for the investors? So, in the shipping niche, I find that Matthew McCleery has done an excellent book in conveying the complexity, the lively dynamics, the variety of characters and the rollercoaster volatility.
Why 3 stars only? I give 5 stars to books that I couldn’t put down and that I will recommend. This is not the case here, because as much as the fiction simplified the shipping intricacies, I still think it’s a novel for a few shipping geeks, like me. A bit too many technicalities for the outsiders.
Then from 4 stars down to 3 as I really am not a Coco fan. He is quite the shark character, proudly so, putting Robert Fairchild in impossible situations. While I understand the tension is good for the thriller plot, and indeed had me hooked on wondering how can he possibly dig himself out of such a situation, I would have not necessarily made Coco the shipping hero. There are shipping businessmen who make tough calls, without burning so many bridges. I found the characters a bit too extreme and the ending a bit too fictional to rate it a full 4 stars.
I might try The Shipping Man book: the writing style is enjoyable and, being the first book, maybe the plot will be less extreme.
Congratulations to Matthew McCleery for managing to combine shipping finance with fiction. I would have not thought of it neither would have considered it possible, and instead he succeeded.
March 3, 2023
What an scintillating "Exit Strategy".
This book & the Robert Fairchild series is just unputdownable. The learnings giving in maritime finance is main crux of the series.
This series has turned out be best finance books for me.
This book & the Robert Fairchild series is just unputdownable. The learnings giving in maritime finance is main crux of the series.
This series has turned out be best finance books for me.
December 28, 2024
Story feels beat to death after reading the prior two in the series and loving them.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews