UK-based containership charter owner Global Ship Lease (GSL) has agreed a new syndicated $268m credit facility with a number of commercial lenders including Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, ABN AMRO Bank, CIT Bank, Hellenic Bank and Siemens Financial Services.
The company will use the proceeds from $230m of first tranche refinancing to repay five existing senior credit facilities with maturities in December 2020 and April 2021.
Following the repayment of the debt, three 2000-built 6,000 TEU ships will become unencumbered.
The second tranche of up to $38 million, or 65% of the market value of the vessel to be financed, is available until May 2020 to facilitate further refinancing.
The final maturity date of the new facility is expected to be September 2024, five years after drawdown.
Additionally, the company has refinanced all of the existing indebtedness under its junior facility of $38.5m in total, extending its maturity from September 2023 to September 2024.
“By successfully executing this refinancing, we are delivering upon our stated goals of reducing our cost of debt, significantly extending maturities of most of our 2020 debt until September 2024, and enhancing our financial flexibility by releasing collateral. While an important step in its own right, this refinancing also provides us with long-term certainty for further enhancements to our capital structure,” said Ian Webber, CEO of Global Ship Lease.
Global Ship Lease currently owns a diversified fleet of 40 mid-sized and smaller containerships.
