Western Bulk ASA has on 1 February 2016 executed a sale and purchase agreement in respect of its 100 % owned subsidiary Western Bulk Chartering AS to an entity wholly controlled by Kistefos AS, following an accelerated auction process involving identified interested parties.
The Transaction is entered into on market terms with regard to the need for an accelerated sales process. The enterprise value in the Transaction is app. MUSD 47. The cash consideration to the company is MUSD 16, to be received upon final completion of the transaction. Under the terms of the transaction, the purchaser will further assume the debtor position from the company of the remaining outstanding amount of MNOK 271 under the MNOK 300 senior unsecured bond issue with ISIN NO 001067557.2. All bonds held in treasury by the company shall be transferred to the purchaser as part of the transaction.
Western Bulk founded in 1982 (as Western Bulk Shipping and Western Bulk Carriers) is a global operator of dry bulk vessels and the world’s third largest operator of Supramax vessels. Headquatered in Oslo Western Bulk also has offices in Singapore, Seattle, Miami and Santiago. Prior to the deal the Western Bulk consisted of two divisions: Western Bulk Chartering and Western Bulk Shipholding. Western Bulk ASA's shares trade on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker simbol WBULK. The corporate management team of Western Bulk consists of CEO Jens Ismar, CFO Håvard Furu and CRO Egil Husby.