John Fredriksen-controlled Golden Ocean is set to become the largest listed dry bulk company in the world when it completes the acquisition of six newcastlemaxes in a deal announced today.
Golden Ocean has moved to acquire six scrubber-fitted 208,000 dwt ships in a $291m deal with H-Line Shipping from South Korea.
The newly-acquired vessels will be chartered back to their former owner for approximately 36 months at an average daily time charter equivalent rate of approximately $21,000 net.
“This acquisition cements our position as the largest owner of modern capesize vessels. It also increases our fleet’s fuel efficiency and reduces its emissions profile as we continue to make progress toward our 2030 emission-reduction target of 30%,” said Ulrik Andersen, CEO of Golden Ocean Management.
The acquisition will be financed by a new $233m credit facility, which will be secured by the newly-acquired vessels and two unencumbered vessels, and cash on hand. Over the past 24 months, Golden Ocean has sold 11 older vessels, generating aggregate net proceeds of approximately $124m.
Following the acquisition, Golden Ocean will be the world’s largest publicly-listed dry bulk company in terms of dwt.
“We have acted on what we see as a short-term weakness in asset prices to acquire high-quality assets with strong return profiles that will comply with all environmental regulations beyond 2030. We have structured the acquisition to manage short-term risk through profitable time charter contracts while increasing our long-term exposure aligning with our optimistic outlook. Due to our strong balance sheet, we are able to do the transaction with moderate leverage and cash on hand without impacting our dividend capacity” Andersen said.
