Croatian shipowner Alpha Adriatic has raised cash by selling two of its bulkers to a joint venture it set up in the summer with Dutch financial advisor DC Maritime Partners.
Zagreb-listed Alpha Adriatic owns 50% of Alpha DCM Investments, which was established in July to acquire and operate vessels.
The Croatian company said that the joint venture has now taken over the 52,000-dwt supramax Punta (built 2016) at the port of Samsun in Turkey, and has also agreed to buy the sistership Valovine (also built 2016).
Brokers reported the price as $14.5m for the Punta and $16m for the more modern Valovine.
This is well below valuation platform VesselsValue's assessment of the bulkers being worth $21m and $24m, respectively.
Alpha Adriatic said it will oversee technical, commercial and crew management of the ships.
The Punta has started a charter with a "renowned" company, the shipowner added, sailing under the Croatian flag and using Croatian crew.
The deals were done with financing provided by US alternative finance house EnTrust Global.
Alpha Adriatic is the restructured former Uljanik Plovidba.
Netherlands-based DC Maritime Partners was set up by former DVB Bank executives in 2016 to work with shipowners on loan restructuring and capital raising.
The company is chaired by ex-DVB Bank chief executive Wolfgang Driese and also features co-founder Evan Cohen, who was in charge of DVB's dry bulk business, as well as four other former DVB bank staff.
Losses covered from retained profit
Alpha Adriatic said earlier this year it was covering its 2020 loss of HRK 84.4m ($13.2m) with retained profit from earlier years.
The fleet now consists of two owned supramax bulkers and an MR tanker.
In April, the shipowner sold an MR tanker after emerging from a bankruptcy reorganisation.
The 52,000-dwt Champion Istra (built 2012) was handed over to Norway's Ebony in Odessa, Ukraine.
In February, Alpha Adriatic completed bankruptcy restructuring at the Commercial Court in Pazin.
This resulted in the release of liabilities of HRK 90m.
The court proceedings were prompted by the shipowner's banking syndicate walking out of debt restructuring talks without notice and then seizing a tanker as collateral.
Alpha had been hit by the fallout from the financial troubles at yard group Uljanik.
The company renamed itself to avoid associations with its former parent.
