Norway-based bulk ship operator Belships has agreed to acquire a 55,866 dwt bulk carrier from Prospero Marine, a company controlled by Greek shipowner Elias Kulukundis.
The bulker Sephora, built in 2007 by Japan’s Kawasaki Heavy Industries, was purchased at a price of USD 12 million, of which half would be paid in cash.
Belships explained that the remaining consideration would be settled through a proposed issue of 7,405,114 new shares to the seller of the vessel. The agreed share price in the transaction is NOK 7.00 per share.
The transaction is Belships’ third acquisition in less than a month. The group is scheduled to take delivery of the Supramax Sephora in July 2019. With the latest addition, Belships’ fleet would consist of 19 Supramax/Ultramax bulk carriers, including a newbuilding being delivered from Imabari Shipbuilding, Japan in the first half of 2020.
The company said it expects the cash payment to be fully financed within the financing package, revealed in mid-March 2019. Belships secured the USD 140 million loan , that replaced the group’s senior debt of USD 105 million, with an aim to add more Ultramaxes and Supramaxes to its fleet.
The loan is available in two tranches, an initial one of USD 110 million that replaced Belships’ loan, while the second tranche of USD 30 million was made available for fleet expansion.