Baltic Trading To Acquire Two Handysize Vessels For About $41.0 Mln

(RTTNews) - Baltic Trading Limited (BALT) announced Monday that it has agreed to acquire two 32,000 dwt Handysize vessels, for an aggregate purchase price of about $41.0 million. The acquisition is subject to the completion of customary documentation and closing conditions.

The two vessels, the 2010-built Baltic Fox and the 2009-built Baltic Hare, are expected to be delivered to Baltic Trading by the end of the third quarter of 2013. Baltic Trading has reached an agreement to enter both vessels upon delivery into the Clipper Logger Pool, a Handysize pool operated by Clipper Bulk.

Upon completion of the acquisition, Baltic Trading will own 11 drybulk vessels, consisting of two Capesize vessels, four Supramax vessels and five Handysize vessels with a total carrying capacity of about 736,000 dwt and an average age of about 3.5 years.

Baltic Trading said it plans to finance this acquisition in part through the proceeds from its $23.1 million share offering completed on May 28, 2013. For the remainder of the purchase price, the company has obtained a commitment for approximately $20 million of commercial bank financing from a global lending institution, which is subject to definitive loan documentation.