Costamare has secured new financing and re-arranged some of its existing loan agreements to reduce its balloon payments due in 2018 from $440m to $80.
The NYSE-listed shipping company has agreed a $87m loan from a “leading European financial institution” that will finance the remaining yard installments for two 11,000-teu containerships it has on order as part of its joint venture with York Capital.
The new loan is repayable over three years, the company said.
Costamare has also refinanced two credit facilities secured against the boxships Cosco Beijing (9,469 teu, built 2006), Sealand New York and Sealand Washington (both 6,648 teu, built 2000).
Under the revised loan agreements, balloon installments of $90m, originally due in the second and third quarter of 2018, have been extended to be amortised over three years.
The company’s $1bn loan facility has also been refinanced and the $270m balloon payment that was due in the second quarter of 2018 will subsequently be amortised over three years.
“Our goal is to strengthen the Company and enhance long term shareholder value. Managing our debt repayment schedule, minimising our capital commitments and adjusting the dividend are necessary steps in today’s market environment,” Gregory Zikos, Costamare’s CFO, said in a release.
