Belships

Belships ASA acquires supramax bulk carrier

Belships ASA (OSE: BEL) has agreed to acquire the 55,866 dwt bulk carrier M/V

SEPHORA from Prospero Marine Ltd, a company controlled by Greek shipowner Elias

Kulukundis. The vessel was built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Japan in 2007.

The agreed purchase price for MV SEPHORA is USD 12.0 million, of which half will

be paid in cash. The remaining consideration will be settled through a proposed

issue of 7,405,114 new Belships shares to the seller of the vessel. The agreed

share price in the transaction is NOK 7.00 per share.

Belships expects the cash payment to be fully financed within the previously

announced financing package (see stock exchange release 14 March, 2019). Hence,

the vessel purchase is not expected to significantly influence the Group's cash

holdings.

The transaction is Belships' third acquisition in less than a month. The Group

expects to take delivery of M/V SEPHORA in July 2019. Following the transaction,

the Belships fleet will count 19 supramax/ultramax bulk carriers, including a

newbuilding being delivered from Imabari Shipbuilding, Japan in the first half

of 2020.

Belships strategy going forward is to grow accretively as a fully integrated

shipowner and operator of geared bulk carriers. The recent acquisitions and

proposed share issue will, in accordance with the Group's shareholder strategy,

expand Belships' shareholder base and improve share liquidity.

For further information, please contact Lars Christian Skarsgård, Belships CEO,

phone +47 977 68 061 or e-mail [email protected].

This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section

5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.

AI Terminal