Danish product carrier specialist Torm has struck another deal to expand the fleet, pouncing on eight LR2 vessels for $399m.
The Copenhagen-listed company said the ships were all built at Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries between 2010 and 2012 and have fuel-efficient eco specifications.
The owner is paying for the tankers with $239m in cash and 5.5m shares.
Deliveries will take place later this year and in the first quarter of 2024.
Torm said it will be drawing on “a combination of different debt financing sources” to fund the transaction.
The company has not named the ships but the dates and shipbuilder tallies with the fleet of Norway’s Kristian Gerhard Jebsen (KGS), which has 10 vessels of 119,500 dwt each built between 2010 and 2012 under the ownership of SKS Greentankers Holding.
SKS Greentankers is a joint venture with Hayfin Capital.
The sale was later confirmed by the partners.
Eight operate in the SKS LR2 pool, with two on charter to BP and Petrobras. The fleet of 10 is worth $501m, according to VesselsValue.
“We are pleased with this opportunity to increase our exposure to the LR2 segment, as we see strong demand drivers in this segment in the coming years,” chief executive Jacob Meldgaard said.
“As always, we focus on the expected return on capital invested and we believe that it is value accretive and particularly interesting for our shareholders to use issuance of new shares as part of the consideration.”
The average price of $49.9m per ship is a notch above Fearnley Securities’ valuation of $49.5m.
The investment bank sees the deal as positive in the longer term.
But analysts Oystein Vaagen and Fredrik Dybwad argue dividends will be hit in the near-term.
Danske Bank analyst Havard Lie said the eight ships consists of five from 2010, one from 2011 and two from 2012.
“We estimate eight standard LR2s to be valued at $384m. So according to our estimates, Torm are paying a $1.88m premium per vessel,” he added.
But the tankers have a very large loading capacity and 12 cargo pumps, which would explain the price, Lie argued.
Linked to US tankers
In October, brokers linked Torm to a return to US owner Alterna Capital for the purchase of more secondhand MR tankers.
A deal was reported for four eco vessels at $150m en bloc, or $37.5m each.
The vessels listed are the 50,000-dwt Essie C, Jane S, Nancy P (all built 2015) and Marie S (built 2016).
Special surveys are not due on the tankers until 2025 and 2026.
VesselsValue assessed the quartet to be worth just shy of $155m.
Values a year ago were about $159m combined.
This would be Torm’s second raid on the Alterna fleet in six months.
In March, Torm, which is controlled by Oaktree Capital Management, said it had spent $97m on three MR vessels. But it did not name the seller.
It later emerged that Alterna had offloaded the vessels — the 50,000-dwt Gladys W, Julia L and Marjorie K (all built 2013).
