Greece-based owner of containerships and bulk carriers Euroseas has spun off its drybulk fleet into a separate company.
The Company announced that it filed a registration statement on Form F-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission to spin-off the Company's drybulk fleet into a separate company, EuroDry Ltd., which has applied for listing on the NASDAQ Capital Market.
Aristides Pittas, Chairman and CEO of Euroseas commented: "The most significant development during the quarter was our decision to spin-off our drybulk fleet into a separate publicly listed company, EuroDry Ltd."
"We believe that separate drybulk and containership investment options will give our shareholders the flexibility to adjust their holdings, if they so wish, between the two sectors,: he added.
Aristides said: "We also anticipate that the creation of sector-focused companies will allow the capital markets to appreciate the value that our public platforms can create as consolidators in their respective fields: EuroDry Ltd., a middle range drybulk owner that owns six vessels, three of which are newbuildings, one ultramax and two kamsarmaxes, built according to our specifications in the last two years and three high-quality Panamax vessels Japanese-built post-2000; and Euroseas Ltd., the only feeder containership public company, with a fleet of eleven vessels that are proven workhorses of the sector."
"We also expect that both EuroDry and Euroseas will trade much closer to their net asset value, like their peers, than the combined company does now."
"We plan to take advantage of growth opportunities in each of the two sectors to increase the size of each respective company as we believe that they are both well positioned to do so both in terms of their capital structure and their contract mix. Each of them being a public company with a cost-effective operating structure could be attractive to other small or large private fleets looking for opportunities to engage in transactions with acquirors," Aristides concluded.