Elias Kulukundis’ Prospero Marine is hungry for more shares in Belships after taking a stake in the ambitious bulker owner.
As TradeWinds reported last week, Kulukundis has sold the 55,000-dwt supramax Sephora (built 2007) to the Norwegian company for $12m, half of which was paid for in its Oslo-listed shares.
As a result, the Greek shipowner now has a stake in Belships of slightly less than 5%.
The deal marks the third time in recent weeks that Belships has used its shares to pay for part of the purchase price of a secondhand bulker.
In a unique interview with TradeWinds, Kulukundis said it is likely that he will want to buy more shares in the Norwegian company.
"The low share price compared to underlying values makes it likely," he said, adding that he wants to hold those shares "in a growing long-term position".
Kulukundis said the Belships deal is "only the second time in my career that I have purchased shares in a publicly owned shipping company".
"I have done so because of Frode Teigen's reputation and Belships' good name in the market," he said, referring to Belships' majority shipowner.
The Sephora already has a Norwegian connection as it is commercially managed by shipbroker Nordic Shipping.
Lars Christian Skarsgaard, the former sale-and-purchase boss at Fearnleys, has bought three units since he was hired for the top job at Belships.
The other two ships are being purchased from Norwegian shipowners EGD Shipholding and the Wenaas group.
But the purchase of the Sephora means Belships gets a substantial international company as an investor.
Skarsgard said: “We are very pleased to have Elias Kulukundis joining as a shareholder.”
The Belships fleet grew substantially with the merger of Teigen’s Lighthouse Shipholding last year. Following the Sephora transaction, the Belships fleet will consist of nine supramaxes and 10 ultramaxes, including a 63,000-dwt newbuilding to be delivered from Imabari Shipbuilding next year.
Skarsgard said the company has capacity to do a lot more.
“We have been able to add three vessels to our fleet with our balance sheet intact whilst expanding our shareholder base,” he said.
The Sephora is one of two vessels controlled by Kulukundis. He purchased the supramax and the 55,600-dwt Cressida (built 2006) six years ago. The ships are managed by FML Ship Management and chartered by Oslo-based Nordic Shipping.
“I have to be interested in the operation of a ship to some extent, but that’s not my passion,” he told sister publication TW+ in an interview last year.
