Global Ship Lease Announces Agreement to Acquire Four Ultra-High Reefer Containerships on Multi-Year Charters
June 16 2021 - 4:15PM
Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE: GSL) (the “Company” or “Global Ship
Lease”) announced today that it has agreed to purchase four 5,470
TEU Panamax containerships with an average age of approximately 11
years for an aggregate purchase price of $148 million. On delivery,
the ships will be chartered to a leading liner operator for a firm
period of three years each, with a charterer’s option for a period
of an additional three years. During the three-year firm period,
the vessels are expected to generate aggregate Adjusted EBITDA of
approximately $124.4 million, implying a strongly accretive average
Purchase Price / Annual Adjusted EBITDA multiple of approximately
3.6x. If the options are exercised, the vessels are expected to
generate approximately $42.2 million of additional Adjusted EBITDA.
With these additions, the Company’s fleet will comprise 66 vessels
with a total capacity of 344,650 TEU.
The ships are scheduled for delivery during the
third quarter of 2021. The Company expects to fund the purchase
price with cash on hand and senior secured debt.
Based on the existing charters, the newly
acquired ships are expected to contribute approximately $42.5
million of Adjusted EBITDA in the first 12 months. This represents
an increase of approximately 25.2% on Adjusted EBITDA for the 12
months ended March 31, 2021. The ships are anticipated to add
approximately $0.88 of earnings per share in the first 12 months,
based on today’s outstanding share count, today’s LIBOR, and other
assumptions, representing an increase of approximately 56.4%
compared to Adjusted earnings per share for the 12 months ended
March 31, 2021.
George Youroukos, Executive Chairman of Global
Ship Lease, commented, “Maintaining our strong momentum of
identifying and securing accretive vessel acquisitions with
multi-year charters in a red-hot market, we are pleased to announce
our agreement to bring these four high-spec ships into the GSL
fleet. These ships are excellent examples of our strategic focus on
ultra-high refrigerated container capacity. Each ship has existing
capacity for 1,200 refrigerated containers – double the average for
ships in the 5,000-7,000 TEU size segment – and electrical power
available for more than 2,000 refrigerated containers; so, these
are top-tier ships offering clear upside potential following the
initial charters. To put things in perspective, adding these four
ships to our existing high-reefer ECO 6,900 TEU ships means that
Global Ship Lease will control over a quarter of the global
high-reefer fleet up to 7,000 TEU capable of carrying 1,200 or more
refrigerated containers. With this acquisition and our recently
announced purchase of 12 feeder and handy size vessels, we have in
just over a week added $103.0 million of expected Adjusted EBITDA
and $1.97 of expected earnings per share in the first 12 months
following delivery, representing increases of 61.1% and 126.3%
respectively, compared to the 12 months ended March 31, 2021.
Looking ahead, we see strong indications that the fundamental
supply and demand drivers for this fantastic market are sustainable
through the medium term, and we continue to believe that GSL is
well positioned to execute our disciplined accretive growth
strategy of expanding our long-term earnings while strictly
limiting our downside risk and creating further value for our
shareholders.”
About Global Ship Lease
Global Ship Lease is a leading independent owner
of containerships with a diversified fleet of mid-sized and smaller
containerships. Incorporated in the Marshall Islands, Global Ship
Lease commenced operations in December 2007 with a business of
owning and chartering out containerships under fixed-rate charters
to top tier container liner companies. On November 15, 2018, it
completed a strategic combination with Poseidon Containers.
Global Ship Lease owns 49 containerships and has
contracted to purchase a further 17 ships, ranging from 1,118 to
11,040 TEU, with a total capacity (when fully delivered) of 344,650
TEU. 32 ships are Post-Panamax, of which nine are fuel-efficient
new-design wide-beam.
Adjusted to include all charters agreed, and
ships acquired or divested as at May 31, 2021 for a total
on-the-water fleet of 49 ships, the average remaining term of the
Company’s charters as at March 31, 2021, to the mid-point of
redelivery, including options under the Company’s control, was 2.6
years on a TEU-weighted basis. Contracted revenue on the same basis
was $984.3 million. Contracted revenue was $1,134.9 million,
including options under charterers’ control and with latest
redelivery date, representing a weighted average remaining term of
3.1 years.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking
statements. Forward-looking statements provide the Company’s
current expectations or forecasts of future events. Forward-looking
statements include statements about the Company’s expectations,
beliefs, plans, objectives, intentions, assumptions and other
statements that are not historical facts. Words or phrases such as
“anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “estimate,” “expect,”
“intend,” “may,” “ongoing,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,”
“project,” “will” or similar words or phrases, or the negatives of
those words or phrases, may identify forward-looking statements,
but the absence of these words does not necessarily mean that a
statement is not forward-looking. These forward-looking statements
are based on assumptions that may be incorrect, and the Company
cannot assure you that the events or expectations included in these
forward-looking statements will come to pass. Actual results could
differ materially from those expressed or implied by the
forward-looking statements as a result of various factors,
including the factors described in “Risk Factors” in the Company’s
Annual Report on Form 20-F and the factors and risks the Company
describes in subsequent reports filed from time to time with the
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Accordingly, you should
not unduly rely on these forward-looking statements, which speak
only as of the date of this press release. The Company undertakes
no obligation to publicly revise or update any forward-looking
statement to reflect circumstances or events after the date of this
press release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated
events.
Investor and Media Contact:
The IGB GroupBryan Degnan646-673-9701orLeon
Berman212-477-8438
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