Okeanis Eco Tankers Corp. (the “Company”) has been granted an option (the “Option”) by the Company’s Chairman (the “Sponsor”) to acquire two Suezmax newbuilding vessels to be constructed at Hyundai Heavy Industries delivering in Q3 2020 (the “Option Vessels”). The Option secures a right for the Company, at no cost, to acquire the Option Vessels at the Sponsor’s acquisition price. The Option was given by the Sponsor following a unanimous decision by the board of the directors of the Company (the “Board”) not to exercise its right of first refusal to step into tanker transactions sourced by the Sponsor. The Option is exercisable at any time on or before 1 November 2019. In the event that the Company does not exercise the Option, the Company will receive a daily fee of USD 600 per vessel from the Sponsor for the commercial management of the Option Vessels upon their delivery.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ioannis Alafouzos commented:
“After careful evaluation of the opportunity, its entailed capital requirements and impact on the Company’s forecasted per-share financial metrics relative to the Company’s current potential, the Board decided to forego the opportunity to grow the Company. The Board is of the unanimous view that the Company’s fleet is already well-positioned –- in terms of size, composition, age and growing spot market exposure –- to capitalize on the strengthening tanker market, and that further growth is thus not warranted at this time.
Nonetheless, as the Sponsor of the Company, I have granted the Company the Option to acquire these vessels from my private vehicle at the price I contracted them, further enhancing the Company’s already considerable exposure to rising tanker asset value upside at no cost. The main drivers of the decision by the Company to exercise or not exercise the Option will be the prevailing market conditions, asset values and the Company’s cost of capital (of which the share price discount or premium to Net Asset Value is a key metric) at the relevant time.
We believe that the transparent, disciplined and analytically rigorous approach by which this transaction was evaluated, as well as the Company’s continued free optionality derived from the Option Vessels, demonstrates the Sponsor’s alignment with and commitment to the Company and its shareholders to only pursue accretive, value-enhancing transactions on their behalf.”
Contact:
John Papaioannou, CFO
Tel: +30 210 480 4099
Email: jvp@okeanisecotankers.com
Additional information about the Company can be found at: www.okeanisecotankers.com
ABOUT OKEANIS ECO TANKERS CORP.
Okeanis Eco Tankers is a pure play eco and scrubber-fitted tanker company that owns and operates a fleet of fifteen modern, high-specification crude oil and products tankers in the VLCC, Suezmax and Aframax segments.
This information is subject to disclosure requirements pursuant to the Continuing Obligations and Section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.
Forward Looking Statements
Matters discussed in this release may contain certain forward-looking statements relating to the business, financial performance and results of the Company and/or the industry in which it operates, sometimes identified by the words “believes”, “expects”, “intends”, “plans”, “estimates” and similar expressions. The forward-looking statements contained in this release, including assumptions, opinions and views of the Company or cited from third-party sources, are solely opinions and forecasts that are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual events to differ materially from any anticipated development. The Company does not provide any assurance that that the assumptions underlying such forward-looking statements are free from errors, nor does the Company accept any responsibility for the future accuracy of the opinions expressed in the presentation or the actual occurrence of the forecasted developments. No obligations are assumed to update any forward-looking statements or to conform to these forward-looking statements to actual results.