Dryships Inc. Announces Acquisition Of Three Modern Kamsarmax Drybulk Vessels

TIN news:  DryShips Inc., a diversified owner of ocean going cargo vessels, announced that it has entered into agreements with unaffiliated third parties to acquire:

One 81,918 DWT Kamsarmax drybulk carrier built in 2014. The Company expects to take delivery of this vessel during the second quarter of 2017.

Two 81,129 DWT Kamsarmax drybulk carriers built in 2014. The purchase of these two second-hand Kamsarmaxes was previously announced and the Company has now physical inspected and accepted the vessels. The Company expects to take delivery of the vessels during the second quarter of 2017.

The Company will finance the total gross purchase price of approximately $68 million using cash on hand, which currently stands at $429 million.

Mr. George Economou, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer commented:

“We are very pleased to have further grown the size of our drybulk fleet to 21 drybulk carriers through the acquisition of three modern vessels, which will also rejuvenate the average age of our fleet. The above acquisition allows us to immediately deploy our available liquidity and is expected to be accretive to our earnings and cash flows.”

The Company is a diversified owner of ocean going cargo vessels that operate worldwide. The Company owns a fleet of (i) 13 Panamax drybulk vessels; (ii) four Newcastlemax drybulk vessels, which are expected to be delivered in the second quarter of 2017; (iii) four Kamsarmax drybulk vessels, three second-hand vessels expected to be delivered in the second quarter of 2017 and one newbuilding expected to be delivered in the third quarter of 2017; (iv) one very large crude carrier, which is expected to be delivered in the second quarter of 2017; (v) one Aframax tanker newbuilding and one Aframax second-hand tanker, both of which are expected to be delivered in the second quarter of 2017; (vi) four VLGC newbuildings, two of which are expected to be delivered in June and September 2017 and the other two before the end of 2017; and (vii) six offshore support vessels, comprising two platform supply and four oil spill recovery vessels. DryShips’ common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Capital Market where it trades under the symbol “DRYS.”