Diana Shipping Buys Sea Trade's Bulker Fleet for $330 Million

Greek shipowner Diana Shipping on Thursday announced it has acquired the bulk carrier fleet of U.S.-based Sea Trade Holdings in a $330 million cash and shares deal.

The nine ultramax vessels, built between 2015 and 2018 with an average vessel age of approximately 5.4 years, are scheduled to be handed over during the fourth quarter of 2022, Diana said.

The ships—STH Athens, STH London, STH New York, STH Sydney, STH Tokyo, STH Kure, STH Chiba, STH Oslo and STH Montreal—are all Japanese-built (Japan Marine United and Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding) and range from 60,309 dwt to 60,508 dwt.

New York-listed Diana said it will pay for the deal using $220 million in cash and $110 million in the form of 18,487,395, in aggregate, newly issued common shares, at a price of $5.95 per share.

The company will fund the cash portion using cash on hand plus proceeds from a new credit facility currently being negotiating with a "major European lender". The common shares will be issued upon the closing of each vessel delivery.