Proposed amendment to bond terms; Eagle Bulk vessel sales to help finance scrubbers
Published by Claire Cuddihy,
Assistant Editor
Dry Bulk,
Yesterday, Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. (Eagle Bulk) announced that it mandated DNB Markets, Fearnley Securities and SEB to arrange a series of meetings commencing on Friday 5 October 2018 with existing holders of the US$200 million in aggregate principal amount of 8.25% senior secured bonds due in November 2022, issued by the company’s wholly-owned subsidiary Eagle Bulk Shipco LLC (ShipCo).
The meetings are for the purpose of seeking approval from holders of the Bonds for an amendment (the Proposed Amendment) to the bond terms, dated 22 November 2017 (the Bond Terms), by and between Shipco, as issuer, and Nordic Trustee AS, which govern the bonds, to allow for the use of proceeds from the sale of certain vessels that secure the bonds (the security vessels) owned by Shipco for financing of four exhaust gas cleaning systems (scrubbers) to be retrofitted to its fleet of vessels and options to purchase 18 additional scrubbers.
Reference is made to the company’s previous announcement on 4 September 2018 where the company indicated that it has entered into a series of agreements for the order of the 19 scrubbers. The company intends to complete the installation of scrubbers on these 19 vessels prior to 1 January 2020, which is the implementation date of the sulfur emission cap regulation set forth by the International Maritime Organisation.
As part of the agreements, Shipco intends to install scrubbers on four of the security vessels. In addition to these installations, scrubbers may be installed on up to an additional 18 of the security vessels under the options agreements. The cost, including installation, is expected to be approximately US$2 million per scrubber.
ShipCo seeks to finance the installation of the scrubbers through sources of funds which may include available cash, cash flow from operations and proceeds from the sale of security vessels.
According to the bond terms, proceeds from sale of a security vessel can only be used towards either vessel acquisitions and/or tendering for outstanding bonds. As described above, the proposed amendment is intended to allow for the use of proceeds from the sale of security vessels, up to a proposed US$25 million for the partial financing of the scrubbers.
Read the article online at: https://www.drybulkmagazine.com/shipping/03102018/proposed-amendment-to-bond-terms-eagle-bulk-security-vessel-sales-to-help-finance-scrubbers/
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