SFL - Acquisition of 4 x 14,000 TEU container vessels
May 31 2018 - 6:06AM
Ship Finance International Limited (NYSE: SFL)
("Ship Finance" or the "Company") announces that it has agreed to
acquire four large container vessels in combination with long-term
time-charters to a leading container line.
The vessels are modern eco-design built in 2014
with approximately 14,000 TEU carrying capacity. The Company
expects to take delivery of the vessels in the near term, and the
purchase price is confidential.
The time-charters to a leading Asia-based
container line run until 2024, with options to extend the charters
by 18 additional months. Our fixed-rate charter backlog will
increase by nearly $450 million and the EBITDA contribution from
these new vessels is estimated to approximately $60 million per
year.
The consideration to the sellers will be cash
plus approximately 4 million newly issued shares in Ship Finance.
The cash consideration is financed with cash on the balance sheet
and a $320 million unsecured loan facility provided by an affiliate
of Hemen Holding Ltd., the Company's largest shareholder. This loan
facility is non-amortizing and with a term of more than one year.
The Company is exploring long-term financing alternatives for these
vessels in the Asian capital market.
Ole B. Hjertaker, CEO of Ship Finance Management
AS, said in a comment: "This acquisition highlights Ship Finance's
strength and ability to achieve sustained growth and continued
diversification. We are deploying a part of the recently raised
capital, but still have capacity for new accretive opportunities.
Over the last two months we have added nearly $600 million to our
charter backlog and expect to continue increasing our fleet of
vessels and charter backlog in 2018".
May 31, 2018
The Board of DirectorsShip Finance International
LimitedHamilton, Bermuda
Questions can be directed to Ship Finance
Management AS:
Investor and Analyst Contacts: Harald
Gurvin, Chief Financial Officer, Ship Finance Management AS +47 23
11 40 09 André Reppen, Senior Vice President, Ship Finance
Management AS +47 23 11 40 55
Media Contact: Ole B. Hjertaker, Chief
Executive Officer, Ship Finance Management AS +47 23 11 40 11
About Ship Finance
Ship Finance International Limited (NYSE: SFL)
has a unique track record in the maritime industry, being
consistently profitable and paying dividends every quarter since
2004. The Company's fleet of more than 80 vessels is split between
tankers, bulkers, container vessels and offshore assets, and Ship
Finance's long term distribution capacity is supported by a
portfolio of long term charters and significant growth in the asset
base over time. More information can be found on the Company's
website: www.shipfinance.bm
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward
Looking Statements
This press release may contain forward looking
statements. These statements are based upon various assumptions,
many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions,
including Ship Finance management's examination of historical
operating trends. Although Ship Finance believes that these
assumptions were reasonable when made, because assumptions are
inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies
which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond its
control, Ship Finance cannot give assurance that it will achieve or
accomplish these expectations, beliefs or intentions. Important
factors that, in the Company's view, could cause actual results to
differ materially from those discussed in this presentation include
the strength of world economies and currencies, general market
conditions including fluctuations in charter hire rates and vessel
values, changes in demand in the tanker market as a result of
changes in OPEC's petroleum production levels and worldwide oil
consumption and storage, changes in the Company's operating
expenses including bunker prices, dry-docking and insurance costs,
changes in governmental rules and regulations or actions taken by
regulatory authorities, potential liability from pending or future
litigation, general domestic and international political
conditions, potential disruption of shipping routes due to
accidents or political events, and other important factors
described from time to time in the reports filed by the Company
with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
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