Norway´s Gram Car Carriers, a large tonnage provider within the Pure Car Truck Carriers segment, seals a deal to sell two of its pure car and truck carriers (PCTC) distribution vessels, the 2,000 ceu Viking Constanza built in 2010, and the 1,000 ceu Viking Princess built in 1996, for a total cash consideration of $43.5 million, with the aim to modernise its fleet and capitalise on historically high second-hand vessel values.
When the deal is completed the company expects to recognise a total book gain of $19 million, with the Viking Constanza to be delivered to its new owner in the fourth quarter of 2023 and the other vessel Viking Princess to be delivered in the first quarter of 2024.
The shipowner didn’t disclose the name of the buyer of the two vessels but revealed that it is a European-based vehicle logistics firm.
Georg A. Whist, the CEO of GCC said “The transaction supports our strategy of owning and operating a modern fleet which reflects the demand from our customers, the world’s leading operators of PCTC tonnage. We are capturing additional value in a historically strong car shipping market and will free up capital to both strengthen our balance sheet and support dividend distributions in line with our policy of paying 75% of net income.”
As the company informs, GCC selectively pursues transactions with the aim of creating shareholder value in combination with the day-to-management of the owned and operated fleet.
This may include vessels acquisitions that are accretive to earnings and dividend capacity, and divestments that are likely to unlock additional value beyond cashflow generation through high asset prices and fleet optimisation.
