First Ship Lease Closes $100m Mezzanine Financing
First Ship Lease Ltd., a commercial finance company focused on diverse shipping assets, today announced the successful completion of a $100 million mezzanine financing facility. The mezzanine facility, combined with previous equity financing and senior debt to be raised on a transactional basis, allows First Ship Lease to provide in excess of $500 million in operating and finance leases to shipping and industrial companies that meet its credit criteria. The mezzanine financing was fully underwritten by BTM Capital Corporation of Boston, a subsidiary of Japan's premier bank, The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Ltd.; Germany-based HSH Nordbank AG, the world's largest ship mortgage lender; and Vereins -und Westbank Group, a subsidiary of Germany's second-largest bank, HypoVereinsbank.
Second in Hellespont Product Series Named
The second in the series of six panamax product carriers under construction for Hellespont Hammonia was named at New Century Shipbuilding Co Ltd (NCS) in Jingjiang, China. Hellespont Progress follows the first in the series, Hellespont Pride, named in July. The sponsor of the Hellespont Progress was M Matsui, wife of the President and CEO of The Sanko Steamship Co. Ltd, Tokyo, Japan, charterers of the vessel. The ceremony was attended by representatives of HCI Capital AG and their placement partners EFC AG, the lending bank Hypovereinsbank, Hamburg shipowner Peter Doehle Schiffahrts-KG, and the classification society, ABS. The 73,400 dwt Hellespont Progress is 750 ft. (228.6 m) and is 38,000 grt on a scantling draft of 46.9 ft.
