Stamford-headquartered Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. (NYSE: EGLE) has announced it will merge with the Greek shipping company Star Bulk Carriers Corp. (NASDAQ:SBLK) in a transaction valued at approximately $2.1 billion.
The combined company will operate as Star Bulk Carriers Corp. and will be headquartered in Athens while maintaining its Stamford office. The Star Bulk management team will be joined by certain senior executives of Eagle in the corporate leadership, with Star Bulk’s CEO Petros Pappas and Chairman Spyros Capralos retaining their executive positions. One member of the Eagle Board will join the Star Bulk Board at closing.
The new Star Bulk will be the largest U.S. listed dry bulk shipping company with a combined fleet of 169 owned vessels on a fully delivered basis.
“We are very excited to be joining forces with Star Bulk, uniting two best-in-class companies, both commercially and operationally,” said Eagle Bulk CEO Gary Vogel. “We are bringing together two highly complementary organizations and are confident that this accretive merger with Star Bulk will unlock significant value for Eagle shareholders, including the opportunity to participate in the long-term upside of the combined company.”
Photo courtesy Eagle Bulk Shipping
