Danaos Corporation Slashes Debt

Danaos Corporation, a leading international owner of containerships, has announced the consummation of its previously announced debt refinancing , significantly strengthening the Company's capital structure and reducing its outstanding debt by approximately USD 551 million.

The debt refinancing strengthens the Company's financial position through the significant debt reduction, reset financial and certain other credit facility covenants, modified interest rates and amortization profiles and the extension of existing debt maturities by approximately five years to December 31, 2023.  

Danaos' CEO Dr. John Coustas said: "We are pleased to announce the closing of our comprehensive debt refinancing agreement, which has significantly strengthened Danaos' financial position and positioned the company for long-term success. We are grateful to our lenders for their support and to our legal and financial advisors, including Evercore, Skadden, Morgan Lewis, Watson Farley and Alix Partners, as well as Simpson Thacher and Houlihan Lokey who advised the independent transaction committee of the Board, for the focus and efforts they put forth towards achieving this favorable outcome."

"Following the completion of this comprehensive debt refinancing, Danaos has a greatly improved capital structure, and Danaos is well positioned to take advantage of growth opportunities in the container sector. Our focus, however, remains on continuously enhancing our operations and leveraging technical innovation to provide the highest quality service to our customers."

In connection with this debt refinancing, the Company issued 99,342,271 shares of  common stock to certain of the Company's lenders, representing 47.5% of the Company's outstanding common stock after such issuance, which diluted existing shareholders ratably.  

Danaos Investment Limited has made various financial and operational commitments as part of the refinancing transactions, including a capital contribution to the Company at closing for which it did not receive any shares, which facilitated the transaction to the benefit of the Company and all of its stakeholders. Danaos Investment Limited remains the Company's largest stockholder following the transaction.