Premuda, the Italian shipping company founded in 1907, has secured over $100m financial support for fleet growth and management buy-out. ING Italia has publicized the completion of two important financial transactions in support of Premuda.
After the first transaction, concerning $65m facility to support the recently announced management buy-out, a $40m sustainability linked loan (SLL) was also recently finalized for the refinancing and the full acquisition of the product tankers eco-design PS Singapore and PS Sydney (both already under management).
Earlier this year, the management team of Premuda announced the successful completion of a management buy-out for 100% of the company’s entire share capital. The transaction was made possible thanks to the significant strategic and financial support of Pillarstone, which remains a co-shareholder alongside the management, the company said.
The financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
Marco Fiori, CEO of Premuda, noted: “We appreciate the continuous support from ING and managed to achieve a very competitive pricing as well as flexible financing structure. The two facilities confirm once again Premuda’s ability to access highly competitive funding sources and align our financing with our strategic priorities”.
For Premuda the implementation of the two transactions marks the beginning of a “new wave of fleet renewal,” the company said.
All the tranches of the sustainability linked loan have been already utilized, and the applicable margin is variable based on the CO2 emissions of the Premuda fleet and its annual efficiency ratio (AER).
The sustainable financing, which Premuda claims it is the company’s first ever, is linked to its fleet decarbonization strategy, and the successful completion underscores the company’s commitment, shared in full by ING, to accelerate progress towards more sustainable shipping.
The company’s fleet portfolio consists of aframaxes, MR2, panamaxes, and handy bulk vessels.
