New York-listed Diana says it
struck a deal to purchase the 82,100-dwt bulker from an unaffiliated third
party for $26.5m.
The unit, which will be
called Myrto when it joins the Greek operator’s fleet by the end of January, is
on order at Tsuneishi Shipbuilding, according to a statement.
Diana used the same
announcement to tell investors that signed a term loan facility with the London
branch of Nordea Finland.
Today, the company drew $20m
from the facility, which will be used to partially finance a pair of post-panamax
bulkers it acquired earlier this year.
In a note to clients,
Michael Webber of Wells Fargo Securities said the price tag tied to the Myrto
is slightly lower than the current market average.
Like many of his peers, the
equity analyst expects the shipowner to stick with its preferred employment
strategy and fix the unit on a time charter of one to two years.
Going forward, Webber
believes Diana will remain active in the sale-and-purchase market where it can
put $450m in cash to work on the acquisition of newbuildings and secondhand
tonnage.
“That
said, given the roll off of legacy charters to new lower levels (effectively
re-pricing its charter portfolio considerably lower) in the soft dry bulk
market, we expect shares to remain under pressure,” the analyst added before reiterating
his “underperform” rating on US-quoted shares of Diana.
Diana
is led by Simeon Palios and based in Athens where it oversees a fleet of 31
bulkers with a combined carrying capacity of more than 3.4 million dwt and an
average age of six years.
