Greek owner and operator of container vessels Euroseas has closed its earlier revealed refinancing of two vessels.
The company explained that the financing was closed with simultaneous interest rate reduction of 0.5% for all other existing loans and the redemption of approximately USD 11.7 million of value, or about 59.4%, of its outstanding Series B Preferred Shares with simultaneous reduction of 4% of the dividend rate for the USD 8 million value of preferred shares remaining outstanding until January 2021.
The transactions reduced Euroseas’ overall leverage of combined debt and preferred equity and reduced its interest and preferred dividend expenses by around USD 1.4 million per year.
“We are looking forward to completing the acquisition and taking delivery of the four feeder containerships we announced last week subject to regulatory approval, including approval from Nasdaq,” Aristides Pittas, Chairman and CEO of Euroseas, said.
“We are excited to position Euroseas as a significant investment option and a publicly listed consolidation platform of the feeder containership sector.”
Euroseas earlier signed an agreement to acquire the four feeders for a combination of a cash payment of USD 15 million and issuance of around 22.5 million shares of common stock to the sellers.
The ships in question are the 2005-built M/V EM Hydra, the 2007-built EM Spetses, the 2007-built EM Kea and the 1998-built M/V Diamantis P, scheduled for delivery within the next two months.
Once these units join the fleet, Euroseas will operate fifteen vessels, including fourteen feeder containerships and one intermediate container carrier.