SPII Holdings Acquires DryShips

The dry bulk shipping company based in Athens DryShips Inc. will be acquired by SPII Holdings Inc. a company controlled by George Economou, under which SPII will acquire the outstanding shares for $5.25 per share in cash, without interest.

As previously disclosed, DryShips is to be merged into a subsidiary of SPII Holdings, a company controlled by DryShips’ chairman and CEO George Economou.

The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2019. The $5.25 per share price represents a premium of approximately 66% over the company's $3.16 closing stock price on June 12.

The $5.25 per share price reflects an increase of approximately 31% over the purchase price of $4.00 per share proposed in the Initial Offer.

The company’s board of directors, acting on the unanimous recommendation of the special committee, approved the merger agreement. The special committee, with the assistance of its independent financial and legal advisors, exclusively negotiated the terms of the Merger Agreement with SPII.

As of February 27, 2019, DryShips operates a fleet of 31 vessels: 6 Panamax drybulk vessels; 8 Newcastlemax drybulk vessels; 5 Kamsarmax drybulk vessels; 1 Very Large Crude Carrier; 3 Aframax tankers; 2 Suezmax tankers; and 6 Offshore Support Vessels, including 2 Platform Supply and 4 Oil Spill Recovery Vessels.