Grindrod Shipping Postpones IVS Bulk Stake Purchase

Singapore-based ship owner and operator Grindrod Shipping Holdings is extending a deadline to acquire a 33.25 percent stake of one of its two JV partners in bulk carrier owner and operator IVS Bulk.

“Grindrod Shipping has extended the termination date of its IVS Bulk joint venture from November 30, 2019 to December 31, 2019 as we continue to progress the transaction agreed in principle with the joint venture partners,” the company said.

Under the deal, Grindrod Shipping would acquire an additional 33.25 percent stake from one of the partners, increasing its ownership in IVS Bulk to 66.75 percent. The third partner would retain its 33.25 percent stake.

The company is also negotiating with lenders to refinance all of the existing debt of IVS Bulk and provide sufficient capital to acquire the additional stake.

“We can provide no assurance that we will complete the acquisition until such time that agreements have been finalized and the financing has been obtained,” the company added.

In late October 2019, Grindrod Shipping reached an agreement for sale and leaseback transaction for one of its Handysize drybulk carriers, IVS Magpie. The Company has now confirmed that it closed the transaction on November 20, 2019, generating about USD 5.4 million of cash after settling the debt associated with the 2011-built ship.

What is more, Grindrod Shipping has acquired ordinary shares in the open market in addition to those announced in October. Over the period from and including October 30, 2019, through and including November 29, 2019, a combined total of 153,915 ordinary shares has been acquired on Nasdaq and the JSE.

As a result, a combined total of 233,243 ordinary shares has been acquired on Nasdaq and the JSE over the period from the end of the second fiscal quarter through and including November 29, 2019, the company informed.

Grindrod Shipping owns and operates a fleet of owned and chartered drybulk vessels and product tankers. The drybulk business, which operates under the brand Island View Shipping (IVS) includes a fleet of 17 Handysize drybulk carriers and 15 Supramax/Ultramax drybulk carriers on the water with two chartered-in Ultramax drybulk carriers under construction in Japan due be delivered in 2020.

The tanker business, which operates under the brand Unicorn Shipping includes a fleet of seven medium-range (MR) tankers and two small tankers.