George Economou’s SPII Holdings and Nasdaq-listed DryShips have entered into a definitive merger agreement which will see Economou take full control of the company.
Economou’s plans to take DryShips private were announced in June, and since then a price of $5.25 per share has been agreed with a committee of independent directors, who were appointed to negotiate the deal.
The price represents a 66% premium to the DryShips share price before the takeover was announced, and the shares soared over 35% to $5.18 yesterday on the back of the agreement.
According to the company’s 2018 annual report, Economou already has a 83.4% stake in DryShips.
DryShips has a fleet consisting of 32 vessels made up 20 bulkers, six tankers and six offshore vessels. It also owns tanker pool operator Heidmar, headed up by Pankaj Khanna.
The transaction is scheduled to close in the fourth quarter of 2019.
