Danaos Corporation announces agreement for the acquisition of six 5,466 TEU Eco-design wide beam container vessels
Danaos Corporation (the "Company") (NYSE: DAC) announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire six 5,466 TEU container vessels built at Hanjin Subic Bay shipyard en bloc for $260 million (the “Acquisition”). The vessels, which have an average age of 6.8 years, are on time charter contracts to leading liner companies with a weighted average charter duration of approximately 2 years.
The Acquisition will increase the Company's contracted revenue by approximately $71 million and the Company's contracted EBITDA by approximately $39 million in total and will be funded by cash at hand, although the Company is evaluating debt financing alternatives to finance part of the purchase price.
The Company’s CEO, Dr. John Coustas commented:
“We are very pleased to announce an immediately accretive acquisition of a modern fleet at a fraction of the newbuilding cost and considerably lower than its charter free market value. The purchase price and contracted revenue associated with the vessels significantly reduce the residual risk of this transaction. Also, the targeted vessel segment has very favorable supply dynamics, and the vessels’ staggered charters with durations between one and three years provide re-chartering upside. Danaos is uniquely positioned to capitalize on the strength of our balance sheet to pursue this type of growth opportunity, and we are firmly committed to continuing to take actions to create value for our shareholders.”
The acquired vessels, which are expected to be gradually delivered to the Company by the end of the third quarter of 2021, are eco-design wide beam vessels with improved fuel consumption and load efficiency characteristics when compared to conventional designs.
About Danaos Corporation
Danaos Corporation is one of the largest independent owners of modern, large-size containerships. Our fleet of 65 containerships aggregating 403,793 TEUs ranks Danaos among the largest containership charter owners in the world based on total TEU capacity. Our fleet is chartered to many of the world’s largest liner companies on fixed-rate charters. Danaos Corporation’s shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “DAC”.
