Performance Shipping Inc. (NASDAQ: PSHG), a global shipping company specializing in the ownership of tanker vessels, announced on Friday (Sep30) that it has signed, through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, a Memorandum of Agreement to purchase the M/T Phoenix Beacon, a 105,525 dwt Aframax tanker vessel built in 2011 by Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. - Ulsan, South Korea, from an unaffiliated third party for a gross purchase price of US$35 million.
The M/T Phoenix Beacon is fitted with a ballast water treatment system (BWTS), and its next scheduled special survey is not due until 2026. The vessel is expected to be delivered to the Company by early December 2022 and will be renamed M/T P. Monterey.
The Company expects to finance the aforementioned acquisition with cash on hand and the incurrence of debt through a new senior secured facility that it anticipates it will enter into prior to the delivery of the vessel.
Commenting on the agreement, Andreas Michalopoulos, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, stated:
“The acquisition of our latest Aframax tanker, M/T P. Monterey, marks yet another important milestone for our Company, as we have managed to grow our fleet from five to eight vessels in a short span of six months. We intend to fund this acquisition with bank debt of approximately US$30 million and the rest from available cash, still maintaining a modest overall level of financial leverage fleetwide. With the delivery of the two newly acquired Aframax tankers during the fourth quarter of 2022, our fleet will be well positioned to potentially generate significant cashflow moving forward. Given this, we believe our common shares are significantly undervalued, as our current market capitalization represents about 10% of our estimated net asset value.”