Trust Management Pte. Ltd., Trustee-Manager of First Ship Lease Trust, has completed the acquisition of a second Yang Ming vessel, YM Elixir, from a subsidiary of Taiwan's Yang Ming Marine Transport Corporation . YM Elixir has concurrently been leased back to YML for a lease term of 12 years with a purchase option for YML at the end of the lease term On May 12, FSL Trust reported a conditional agreement to acquire three container vessels from YML for a total consideration of US$210 million. YM Elixir is the second of the three. Acquisition of the first, YM Eminence was completed on May 20. The third vessel, currently under construction, is expected to be delivered end October 2008.
The acquisition of YM Elixir is fully funded by FSL Trust's second US$200 million revolving credit line. FSL Trust has hedged the interest rate risk with an interest rate swap to fix the interest rate exposure until the maturity of the facility.
YM Elixir, a 4,250 TEU containership, will trade in YML's Intra-Asia and Asia-Europe liner services.
The acquisition of the first two vessels, YM Eminence and YM Elixir, is expected to be significantly accretive to FSL Trust's distribution per unit ("DPU"), raising projected DPU for Q3 FY2008 to US3.05 cents. Guidance on the DPU accretion for the third vessel will be announced once financing has been secured.
Singapore-headquartered First Ship Lease Trust provides leasing services on a bareboat charter basis to the international shipping industry. On closing of the third Yang Ming vessel, FSL Trust will have a portfolio of 23 vessels, consisting of seven containerships, nine product tankers, three chemical tankers, two dry bulk carriers and two crude oil tankers. These vessels have an average age of approximately 3.2 years, and an average remaining lease period of approximately 9.2 years\ (excluding extension periods and early buy-out options). FSL Trust is listed on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited and is managed by FSL Trust Management Pte. Ltd. ("FSLTM"), the Trustee-Manager. FSLTM is focused on rapidly growing the vessel portfolio of FSL Trust through accretive acquisitions with longterm bareboat charters. With the Yang Ming acquisitions, it will have doubled the asset size of its portfolio since its listing in March 2007.
The acquisition of YM Elixir is fully funded by FSL Trust's second US$200 million revolving credit line. FSL Trust has hedged the interest rate risk with an interest rate swap to fix the interest rate exposure until the maturity of the facility.
YM Elixir, a 4,250 TEU containership, will trade in YML's Intra-Asia and Asia-Europe liner services.
The acquisition of the first two vessels, YM Eminence and YM Elixir, is expected to be significantly accretive to FSL Trust's distribution per unit ("DPU"), raising projected DPU for Q3 FY2008 to US3.05 cents. Guidance on the DPU accretion for the third vessel will be announced once financing has been secured.
Singapore-headquartered First Ship Lease Trust provides leasing services on a bareboat charter basis to the international shipping industry. On closing of the third Yang Ming vessel, FSL Trust will have a portfolio of 23 vessels, consisting of seven containerships, nine product tankers, three chemical tankers, two dry bulk carriers and two crude oil tankers. These vessels have an average age of approximately 3.2 years, and an average remaining lease period of approximately 9.2 years\ (excluding extension periods and early buy-out options). FSL Trust is listed on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited and is managed by FSL Trust Management Pte. Ltd. ("FSLTM"), the Trustee-Manager. FSLTM is focused on rapidly growing the vessel portfolio of FSL Trust through accretive acquisitions with longterm bareboat charters. With the Yang Ming acquisitions, it will have doubled the asset size of its portfolio since its listing in March 2007.