Cyprus-based dry bulk vessel owner Castor Maritime has entered into two financing agreements that would result in acquiring capital for future fleet expansion.
The transactions include a secured term loan financing agreement and a non-brokered private placement of unsecured convertible debentures.
“Castor intends to use the net proceeds from both financing transactions for working capital and other general corporate purposes, including growing the company’s fleet,” the company explained.
On January 23, 2020, the company entered into the USD 4.5 million secured term loan facility with a financial institution, through one of its ship-owning subsidiaries, the M/V Magic Sun Financing. The loan is expected to be drawn down on January 31, 2020, and will have a tenure of five years from the drawdown date, according to Castor Maritime.
Furthermore, on January 27, the company entered into the securities purchase agreement with an institutional investor, pursuant to which the company will sell and the investor will purchase up to three convertible debentures for a maximum aggregate price of USD 5 million. The debentures will mature twelve months from their issuance and are convertible into common shares of the company.
The sale of the first convertible debenture in the original principal amount of USD 2 million also closed today. The other two debentures will be issued in the original principal amount of USD 1.5 million each upon the fulfillment of certain conditions relating to registration rights. The shipping company also entered into a registration rights agreement relating to the common shares underlying the convertible debentures.
“We are pleased to have successfully completed these two financing agreements. We believe that the inflow of gross proceeds of USD 9.5 million to our working capital reserves, at this point in the dry bulk market cycle, will allow us to take advantage of attractive growth opportunities potentially presented to us in the near future,” Petros Panagiotidis, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Castor, commented.
Castor Maritime currently has a fleet of three Panamax dry bulk carriers.