Top Ships strikes financing deal and charter with Cargill
Top Ships has secured a sale and leaseback deal as well as a five-year charter with Cargill for its newbuild eco tanker Hull No 8242, currently under construction at Hyundai Mipo in South Korea.
Top Ships is selling the vessel to Cargill, generating proceeds of $32.4m, and then leasing it back from Cargill for a five-year period. Top Ships will charter the vessel back to Cargill for five years, and has the option to buy it back at any time and an obligation to buy it back at the end of the leaseback/charter period.
Evangelos Pistiolis, president and CEO of Top Ships, commented: “Our strategy of acquiring very high quality vessels has once again been embraced by a top quality charterer. This financing alone covers about one fifth of the capital required in order to take delivery of the three vessels that we acquired during the first quarter of 2018, all of which will be delivered within the first 2 quarters of 2019. We are working very hard to finalize financing for the remaining capital requirements of these vessels in the near future.”