The Greek ship owner Angeliki Frangou decided to merge its dry cargo and tanker companies, Navios Maritime Partners L.P. (Navios Partners) and Navios Maritime Acquisition Corp. (Navios Acquisition), forming the largest US publicly-listed shipping company in terms of vessel count, with 15 vessel types diversified across three segments, servicing more than 10 end markets.
The two companies announced a “definitive transaction agreement providing for a combination of Navios Partners and Navios Acquisition in a transaction in which shareholders of Navios Acquisition will receive 0.1275 of a common unit of Navios Partners for each outstanding common share of Navios Acquisition.”
All of Navios Acquisition’s outstanding 8.125% First Priority Ship Mortgage Notes, due on 15 November 2021, will be redeemed in accordance with their terms with the proceeds of a cash contribution from Navios Partners and newly arranged secured term loan financings, according to a statement.
“About one-third of our fleet will be in each of the dry bulk, containership and tanker segment. We believe that this combination will result in a stronger, more resilient entity, mitigating sector specific cyclicality. This should enable us to capitalize on opportunities throughout the industry and provide even returns to our stakeholders across cycles,” commented Angeliki Frangou, Chairwoman and Chief Executive Officer.
Frangou went on to add, “this combination of two companies will allow us to continue to deliver the high-quality service that our customers expect. We have a proven model to execute seamless combinations, as evidenced by our prior successful roll-up transactions, and we anticipate a smooth execution for this combination as well.”
