By George Georgiou

 

A surprise hid the closing of Wall Street, regarding the listed Greek shipping companies, as Danaos Corp of Yannis Koustas revealed the acquisition of a share in the American Eagle Bulk Shipping.

 

With its note to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Danaos, a company with exclusive activity in the market of container ships, announced that it has accumulated 1.37 million shares of Eagle Bulk, a company with a fleet of bulk carriers, a number translated in an equity percentage of 9.99%.

 

It is not yet known whether Danaos has drawn up a plan to acquire dry bulk vessels as well, or whether it will focus on maintaining and growing a stake in a company with prospects, ultimately generating profits for its shareholders.

 

Attractive investment

 

According to a recent article on investment platform Seeking Alpha, Eagle Bulk's stock is currently trading at a discount of around 30% to its net asset value (NAV).

 

"We believe the stock is an attractive option for investors looking to capitalize on the improving dry cargo market," analysts said about a month ago.

 

Frode Morkedal and Even Kolsgaard of investment bank Clarksons Securities.

 

Stock analysts point out that this significant discount, combined with Eagle Bulk's strong balance sheet and liquidity, but also the positive outlook for dry cargo (low order book, expected growth in demand) attracted Danaos.

 

Eagle Bulk controls a total of 52 bulk carriers, small and medium sized, supramax and ultramax type. On the other hand, Danaos has a fleet of 68 active containerships, with a total capacity of 421,293 TEUs, while "running" a shipbuilding program for eight more.

 

Costamare

 

It is recalled that another Greek giant of the containership market, Costamare of Kostis Konstantakopoulos, made an opening in the dry cargo sector during 2021, with acquisitions of second hand ships. Today, it manages 43 bulk carriers.