Eagle Bulk Shipping’s two largest shareholders are injecting almost $70m into a notes offering which will support a six-ship ultramax swoop.
Oaktree Capital Management and GoldenTree Asset Management are both putting cash into the new convertible, the shipowner revealed as it priced the new paper today.
The notes will carry interest of 5% per year and hold a strike price of $5.61 per share with maturity in August 2024.
Eagle announced the raise in support of the planned purchase of six modern vessels yesterday, which if completed will mark its second major en bloc deal in three years.
If the purchase is closed, Eagle will have added 20 modern vessels to its fleet since initiating a renewal and growth programme under Gary Vogel’s tenure as chief executive.
At the same time it has sold 14 older vessels and launched a $80m plus scrubber fitting scheme to meet IMO 2020 rules.
The latest transaction will see Eagle with a fleet of 50 vessels on the water, most of which will be fitted with scrubbers.
Finance sources say the sight of Oaktree putting $45.5m into the notes and GoldenTree a further $23.6m is a vote of confinece in the deal from two flagship investors.
Shares in Eagle has a rough ride yesterday after the offering as announced.
However, some ground was regained today with the stock up 4,45% at $4.69 each in morning trading.
