Global Ship Lease to Acquire Containership

Global Ship Lease, Inc. has  announced  that it has agreed to acquire a 8,063 TEU containership from a leading container liner company for a purchase price of $55 million.

The 2005-built vessel is expected to deliver in the fourth quarter of 2014, subject to the completion of customary additional documentation and closing conditions. The vessel will be time chartered back to the container liner company for a period of 36 to 39 months, at charterer's option, at a gross rate of $34,500 per day, for total contracted revenue of between $37.7 and $40.9 million. The acquisition of the vessel is expected to generate annual EBITDA of approximately $9.4 million. Upon delivery of the vessel, the company's fleet will comprise 18 vessels with a total capacity of 74,412 TEU. The purchase price will be settled using existing liquidity, which includes cash on hand and the $40 million revolving credit facility put in place in March 2014 as part of the company's balance sheet restructuring.

Ian Webber, Chief Executive Officer of Global Ship Lease, stated, "Building on our recent success enhancing the company's financial strength and capital structure as well as its commercial prospects, we continue to take important steps to unlock additional value in the company for the benefit of shareholders. This acquisition represents a significant milestone in our progress and in the execution of our growth strategy. Having successfully raised capital earlier this year through a transformative debt offering, we are pleased to have developed this attractive opportunity, partnering with a leading container liner company and meeting our strict investment criteria. Specifically, the acquisition diversifies our charter portfolio with an additional high-quality counterparty, is immediately accretive to earnings and cashflow, and increases our annual EBITDA by over $9 million."

Webber continued, "We remain confident in the positive underlying fundamentals of the containership industry, and our financial strength and flexibility position us well to continue to pursue fleet growth during a time of cyclically low asset values. Looking forward, we will continue to evaluate opportunities to maximize shareholder value by growing our fleet with a focus on accretive, charter-attached acquisitions and further expanding our capacity to return value to our shareholders in due course in the form of a sustainable dividend."