Container ship lessor Danaos Corp has revealed a 10% stake in Eagle Bulk Shipping, confirming rumours of Greece-based interest in the US dry bulk company that had circulated in recent weeks.
The John Coustas-led company — like Eagle Bulk, listed on the New York Stock Exchange — revealed in a filing after the close of trading on Friday that it has accumulated 1.37m shares, a stake of 9.99%.
TradeWinds’ Streetwise newsletter reported on 6 April that a pair of Greek shipowners — one public and one private — were said to be investigating a purchase of Eagle Bulk shares.
The talk came at the same time that Eagle Bulk registered for sale shares of its largest holder — private equity’s Oaktree Capital Management, which held 3.8m units or a 27.6% stake.
Sources speculated that Oaktree might be looking to sell down the long-held position. However, it is not clear whether Danaos’ investment is related to a selldown by the private equity giant.
Eagle Bulk management could not be reached for comment on Friday after business hours.
Danaos is not the first public container ship owner to demonstrate an interest in the dry bulk sector.
Fellow Greek owner Costamare has made a push into the dry trade both as an owner of bulkers and operator of an expanding trading platform. The platform, called Costamare Bulkers Inc (CBI), has grown to 51 vessels at last report.
Costamare owns separately from CBI a fleet of about 70 container ships and more than 40 smaller bulkers.
Eagle Bulk was the top performer of US-listed dry bulk equities in 2022 but has followed that with underperformance in its share price this year.
The slide put the Connecticut company on the radar of analysts at Clarksons Securities as a bargain buy opportunity.
“We see no compelling reason for this underperformance, so we consider it a very appealing buying opportunity,” wrote analysts Frode Morkedal and Even Kolsgaard in a client note on 10 May.
“The stock has shifted from trading above [net asset value (NAV)] earlier this year to trading at a 35% discount to NAV. As a result, we believe the stock is now a compelling choice for investors looking to profit from the improving dry bulk market.”
Eagle Bulk owns 52 vessels, including 22 supramaxes and 30 ultramaxes, with only two vessels lacking exhaust-gas scrubbers.
Danaos, which owns 68 boxships, had its credit rating upgraded by S&P Global Ratings this month to one level shy of investment grade on the strength of reduced debt and strong cash flows. Danaos expects to reach zero net debt within this year.
