New York-listed dry bulk owner Eagle Bulk Shipping has agreed to acquire up to nine ultramax dry bulk vessels from Greenship Bulk Trust.
Eagle Bulk said the Crown-63 sister vessels range in age from two to five years, and the transaction is worth $153m assuming all nine ships are transacted.
While the deal is done for the outright acquisition of six vessels, three vessels are dependant on final approval from Greenship’s unit holders.
Greenship Bulk Trust, registered on the Norwegian OTC list, ran into difficulty last year admitting it was in default of debt payments and had been holding discussions with creditors to restructure its debts.
Gary Vogel, Eagle Bulk’s CEO, commented: “Eagle Bulk continues to execute on our fleet renewal and growth strategy, and today’s announced acquisition affirms our ability to transact in a meaningful way. We are especially pleased that we were able to reach an agreement to purchase 6, and potentially 9, sister ships en bloc in a market where quality tonnage is difficult to find. We view this as a milestone transaction, as it can increase our number of vessels by over 20% while meaningfully advancing the build-out of our owner-operator business model.”
Deliveries are expected to commence in April, and assuming delivery of all nine vessels Eagle Bulk’s fleet will extend to 50 owned vessels.
