Greek shipping company Costamare Inc. has acquired York Capital’s 60% equity interest, on average, in five 11,000 TEU containerships.
The acquisition brings the Costamare’s ownership interest in these five vessels to 100%.
Four of the vessels were built in 2017 and one in 2016.
The five vessels were initially contracted as new buildings in 2013 and 2015 under the joint venture with York Capital. The vessels currently operate under long-term charters, with four of them expiring in 2031 and the fifth one in 2025.
“The deal provides a successful exit path in this investment for our partner. At the same time, the joint venture continues to own another five vessels and our relationship is ongoing,” Gregory Zikos , Chief Financial Officer of the Company, commented.
“The vessels acquired provide us with incremental contracted revenues of approximately US $335 million and have a TEU-weighted average time charter duration of 8.9 years.”
The acquisition has been funded with cash at hand and commercial bank debt provided by European and U.S. financial institutions with tenors of up to 10 years, according to Costamare.
Costamare has a fleet of 78 containerships, with a total capacity of approximately 559,000 TEU, including one vessel under construction and three secondhand vessels that the company agreed to acquire.