Star Bulk Acquires Two Capesize Vessels

Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (Nasdaq: SBLK),a global shipping company focusing on the transportation of dry bulk cargoes, today announced that it has entered into definitive agreements to acquire two Capesize bulk carriersfor an aggregate purchase price of approximately $51.5 million.

The first Capesize vessel has a carrying capacity of approximately 168,000 dwt and was built in South Korea in 1996. This vessel has a time charter agreement with a major mining company until November 2015 at the earliest, at a gross daily rate of $25,000. The vessel is expected to generate $38-44 million in gross revenue and is currently expected to be delivered to Star Bulk within July 2011.

The second Capesize vessel has a carrying capacity of approximately 170,000 dwt and was built in Japan in 1994. This vessel has a time charter agreement with a major mining company until August 2014 at the earliest, at a gross daily rate of $24,500. The vessel is expected to generate $26-31 million in gross revenue and is currently expected to be delivered to Star Bulk within July 2011.

The vessels are being acquired from companies, in which family members of our Chairman, Mr Petros Pappas, hold minority stakes. The new vessel acquisitions will be financed through a combination of company cash and bank debt.

Spyros Capralos, President and CEO of Star Bulk commented: "We are pleased to acquire these two vessels that will increase significantly our fleet's carrying and earnings capacity. We believe that the time charter agreements that the two vessels have attached to them will substantially enhance our revenue visibility and improve our financial results going forward, since they are expected to contribute a minimum of $64 million to a maximum of $75 million in gross revenue. We will continue to be on the lookout for opportunities to structure accretive transactions that increase shareholder value."

Source: http://www.starbulk.com