New York-listed Ardmore Shipping Corporation (Ardmore) has reached agreement to acquire six modern, Eco-Design MR product/chemical tankers for an aggregate purchase price of USD 172.5 million .
The vessels, which have an average age of 2.4 years, are scheduled to be delivered to Ardmore on a charter-free basis between September and October 2016 .
The acquisition will expand Ardmore’s fleet to 28 vessels, or by approximately 32% on a tonnage basis, and is expected to be accretive to earnings and to net asset value.
Ardmore said that it plans to fund the acquisition with the net proceeds from a public offering of common shares and a new credit facility with an existing lender.
Separately, Ardmore announced that, subject to market conditions, it plans to offer 7.5 million of its common shares in an underwritten public offering.
In connection with the proposed offering, the company intends to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 1,125,000 additional common shares.
GA Holdings LLC, the company’s largest shareholder, has indicated an interest in purchasing approximately 17.0% of the offered shares at the public offering price.