Star Bulk Completes Eagle Bulk Acquisition
Star Bulk Carriers Corp. on Tuesday announced that it has completed its merger with fellow dry bulk shipping company Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc.
Eagle Bulk shareholders this week voted to approve the $2.1 billion deal, which was first announced in December 2023.
Under the terms of the merger agreement, each Eagle shareholder received 2.6211 shares of Star Bulk common stock for each share of Eagle common stock owned. Eagle common stock has ceased trading and will no longer be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Petros Pappas, Chief Executive Officer of Star Bulk, said, “This is an exciting day for Star Bulk as we bring together our companies and create a global leader in dry bulk shipping. We are moving forward with greater scale, a stronger financial profile and unique technical and commercial capabilities to grow our business, better serve our customers and deliver sustainable value for our shareholders.”
The combined company—to operate as Star Bulk Carriers under the leadership of current Star Bulk management and select Eagle senior executives—forms the largest U.S. listed dry bulk shipping company with a combined fleet of 163 owned vessels, consisting of Newcastlemax, Capesize, Post Panamax, Kamsarmax, Panamax, Ultramax and Supramax vessels with carrying capacities between 53,489 dwt and 209,537 dwt. The combined company is headquartered in Athens, Greece, with offices in Stamford, Conn.; Singapore; Copenhagen; and Limassol.
In connection with the closing of the merger, Gary Weston has joined the Star Bulk Board of Directors, Bo Westergaard has joined Star Bulk’s new leadership team and Costa Tsoutsoplides will serve as interim Senior Advisor to assist with business integration.