Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHIP) announced yesterday that it has entered into definitive agreements with unaffiliated third parties for the purchase of a modern secondhand Capesize vessel and the sale of two Supramax drybulk vessels. The transactions are expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2018. Following these transactions, Seanergy will be the only pure-play Capesize vessel owner listed in the US public markets.
Acquisition of Modern Capesize Vessel
The Company has agreed to acquire a modern secondhand Capesize vessel from an unaffiliated third party, built in 2010 at Daewoo Shipbuilding in South Korea with a cargo-carrying capacity of approximately 180,000 deadweight tons (“dwt”) for a gross purchase price of $28.7 million.
The delivery of the new vessel is scheduled to take place in the fourth quarter of 2018. The vessel is currently on time charter to a major European drybulk operator at a gross daily rate of $17,150 with latest redelivery date in January 2019.
Sale of the Company’s Supramax Vessels
Additionally, the Company has entered into two separate definitive agreements with unaffiliated third parties for the sale of its only two Supramax vessels, the 2010-built M/V Gladiatorship and the 2011-built M/V Guardianship. The aggregate gross sale price is approximately $23 million and the vessels are scheduled to be delivered to their new owners in October 2018.
Finally, the Company has reached an in-principle agreement with the existing lender of the two Supramax vessels pursuant to which it expects that the loan secured by these vessels will remain available to fund the majority of the acquisition cost of the new Capesize vessel under substantially the same terms. The definitive documentation for such agreement is currently under negotiation with the Company’s lender. The balance of the acquisition price of the Capesize vessel is expected to be funded through cash on hand.
The S&P transactions are subject to standard closing procedures.
Stamatis Tsantanis, the Company’s Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, stated: “We are pleased to announce these transformational transactions, which will result in the Company becoming the first pure-play Capesize owner listed in the US public markets. These transactions increase Seanergy’s Capesize cargo carrying capacity to 1,748,638 dwt without diluting our shareholders or increasing our corporate leverage.
“This is consistent with our plan of focusing and growing Seanergy’s presence on the Capesize market, which we believe offers the best fundamentals in the dry bulk industry.
“We believe that the sale price achieved for our two Supramax vessels is attractive, especially in view of the latest rules set by China for Tier II vessels engaged in domestic trading. The two Supramax vessels are replaced with a high quality Korean Capesize, acquired at what we believe to be a low price considering the current valuation environment and the favorable prospects of the sector.
“Lastly the in-principle agreement reached with one of our existing banks for the transfer of the loan from the two Supramax to the Capesize, attests to the continuous support of and strong working relationship with our lenders.”
Source: Seanergy Maritime