Pacific Basin building war chest to buy ships ‘at historically depressed prices’

Hong Kong’s largest shipowner by fleet numbers is looking to raise cash to pay back $123.8m of convertible bonds as well as ready itself for any potential bargains that appear on the market.

Listed Pacific Basin is looking to raise $150.6m via a 1.9bn rights shares offering. Its bonds are likely to be repaid in October this year. The company said the capital would help the line “at a time when a number of companies in the industry are experiencing financial distress”.

Pacific Basin said it is building a war chest to buy secondhand handy and supramax ships which are “at historically depressed prices”. These new acquisitions, Pacific Basin maintained, “would be able to generate an earnings premium compared to market indices”.