Diana ups stake in Genco

DIANA Shipping has spent another $15.8m on shares in Genco Shipping & Trading in a move understood to make the Greece-based owner the current largest shareholder in its dry bulk peer.

A new filing with regulators showed Diana as purchasing close to 1m additional shares in the market since July 17, bringing its total investment to date in Genco to $61.7m and giving it a stake of 9.99%.

Diana, which like Genco is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, in mid-July had disclosed its initial stake in Genco, amassed since April.

The share-buying puts it ahead of others that have been buying Genco stock this year, including Singapore-based Kibo Investments and US asset giant Black Rock.

Diana’s enhanced shareholding was disclosed shortly after a senior company director described the move as a “strategic” one based on several factors.

“For us, it’s a medium- to long-term investment,” said Ioannis Zafirakis, who also serves as Diana’s chief strategy officer.

Genco was a “very well-run dry bulk company, which was trading admittedly at a discount to NAV less than ours”.

“Having said that, there is an additional value to this purchase, which has to do with the strategic positioning of Diana Shipping as a major shareholder in that company,” Zafirakis said.

Diana could benefit from complementary aspects between the two companies, such as different chartering strategies.

Furthermore, Genco was a dividend-paying company.

“All in all, we have considered that to be a better option than buying our stock at discount now without excluding the possibility of us buying back our stock in the future,” he said.

Genco is the largest dry bulk owner headquartered in the US, with a fleet of 42 vessels.

Diana has a fleet of 37 bulkers on the water and two on order.