Dry bulk shipping company Safe Bulkers has secured USD 16.9 million of financing for the construction of a new Kamsarmax class vessel, scheduled for delivery in the first half of 2018.
An unaffiliated investor would provide the funds in exchange for a 2.95% cumulative redeemable perpetual preferred equity, to be issued upon the delivery of the ship.
“This arrangement allows the c ompany to finance a significant portion of this newbuild through the issuance of preferred equity to the investor with a preferred dividend below 3%, avoiding the incurrence of additional indebtedness and preserving our liquidity position, while it is not dilutive for our common shareholders,” Loukas Barmparis, President of the company, said.
Safe Bulkers added that the preferred shares will not entitle the investor to any voting rights, and that the preferred shares may be redeemed at the option of the issuer at any time or at the option of the investor upon the third anniversary of the issuance date.