Rickmers Maritime announces proposed acquisition of 13 containerships

Rickmers Maritime announced that it has entered into 13 conditional memoranda of agreement (MOA) with the wholly owned subsidiaries of Polaris Shipmanagement Company Limited (Polaris, and the wholly owned subsidiaries of Polaris, collectively referred to as the VesselCos) to acquire 13 containerships (vessels), consisting of five 4,250 TEU vessels that will be chartered to Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (Mitsui Vessels), four 4,250 TEU Vessels that will be chartered to Hanjin Shipping Co., Ltd. (Hanjin Vessels) and four 13,100 TEU Vessels that will be chartered to A.P. Møller - Mærsk A/S (Maersk Vessels) (acquisition). The aggregate purchase price of all the vessels is $1.35 billion (purchase price). The purchase price of each Vessel is as follows: $72.0 million for each of the Mitsui Vessels, expected to be delivered in 2008; $69.0 million for each of the Hanjin Vessels, expected to be delivered in 2009; $177.5 million for each of the Vessels, Maersk Edinburgh and Maersk Emden, expected to be delivered in 2010; and $178.3 million for each of the Vessels, Maersk Eindhoven and Maersk Essen, expected to be delivered in 2010.