Private interests of Navios Maritime Holdings chief executive Angeliki Frangou have sealed a sweetened deal to buy out the US-listed tanker and logistics company.
The offer was first made in September by Frangou vehicle N Shipmanagement Acquisition Corp at $1.84 per share.
The merger has now become a definitive agreement involving Frangou’s N Logistics Holding Corp at $2.28 in cash, a 43% premium to the share price on the last trading day before the original announcement.
The stock closed at $1.89 in New York on Friday, giving the company a market cap of $43m.
Navios Holdings’ independent directors had formed a special committee to discuss the offer.
The merger has now been unanimously approved and is expected to close no later than the first quarter of 2024.
Navios Holdings owns a 63.8% stake in Navios South American Logistics, an owner of small coastal tankers and one of the largest infrastructure and logistics companies in the Hidrovia region of South America.
The firm also holds a 10.3% piece of Navios Maritime Partners, Frangou’s US-listed shipowning giant that is active in bulkers, container ships and tankers.
According to Navios Holdings’ latest annual report, Frangou is the company’s sole major shareholder owning 64% of its common stock.
This would leave N Logistics paying about $18.7m for the rest of the company at a price of $2.28 per share.
Bulker fleet sold
As of 17 March, the firm also had another 13 small investors on record, eight of which were located in the US and held about 96% of shares not owned by Frangou.
Navios Holdings sold off its fleet of 36 bulkers to Navios Partners last year.
Second-quarter profit was $15.5m, from revenue of $81.9m.
Assets totalled $948m at the end of June.
Frangou said at the time of the results that global conditions were supporting continued growth in the Hidrovia region.
“As the world’s requirements evolve, whether for raw materials for green technology, old world requirements for mineral commodities or dynamically changing grain trade patterns, our region will be providing solutions,” she said.
