August 19 (SeeNews) - Croatian shipping company Jadroplov [ZSE: JDPL] said on Thursday it has commissioned the construction of two bulk carriers with an unnamed Chinese shipbuilder.
“Jadroplov signed in the evening on August 18 a deal with a Chinese shipyard for construction of two 63,000 dwt bulk carriers, with an option for construction of one more,” the company said in a filing to the Zagreb bourse.
A dealdline for the deal to enter into force is in 30 days, it added without elaborating.
Last month, the company said it plans to use the fresh capital it has started raising in a public offering to renew its fleet of vessels and that it would buy two to three new ships in the next two years and put up to sale two older ships.
By buying new vessels, Jadroplov aims to lower the average age of its fleet to between 5 and 8 years.
As of July 29, the company's fleet consisted of five vessels with a total 242,727 DWT and an average age of 15 years, company data showed.
Last month, Jadroplov opened subscription for up to 2,000,000 new shares at a minimum price of 25 kuna apiece, to be paid for in cash. The nominal value of each share is 10 kuna ($1.6/1.3 euro). Existing shareholders have no pre-emptive rights for the new share issue. The public offering will be considered successful if at least one million new shares are subscribed and paid for. It closes on Friday, August 20.
The company's capital of 16.37 million kuna is distributed in 1,636,674 shares with a par value of 10 kuna apiece.
Its majority shareholder with a 70.44% stake is the government agency for restructuring and sale of state assets, CERP.
Jadroplov's shares last traded on Wednesday, when they closed at 46.40 kuna, up 3.11%.
(1 euro = 7.501 Croatian kuna)