Pangaea to take full control of Nordic Bulk Partners

Nasdaq-listed Pangaea Logistics Solutions is taking full ownership of its four-ship-strong subsidiary, Nordic Bulk Partners.

The Rhode Island-based bulker owner and operator has struck a deal with fellow Connecticut-based alternative asset manager Hudson Structured Capital Management to buy Nordic’s remaining 50% equity ownership for $17.2m in cash.

Pangaea said it expects to close the deal by November.

Nordic Bulk was set up in 2019 as a joint venture to build a quartet of ice-class post-panamax 95,000 dwt bulkers at Guangzhou Shipyard International (GSI) at $37.7m each. The ships were delivered in 2021 to service Pangaea’s Arctic customer base.

Last month, the Mark Filanowski-led Pangaea acquired 15 handysize bulkers via a $194m all-share transaction with M.T. Maritime Management (MTM), expanding its owned fleet to 41 vessels.

Commenting on the latest move, chief executive Filanowski said taking full ownership of four modern bulkers further consolidates the company’s fleet of niche ice class, cleans up the balance sheet, and improves operating cash generation.

“We continue to pursue our strategic initiative of investing in our fleet of owned vessels, while taking advantage of the favorable macro backdrop in the dry bulk market to unlock incremental net asset value and maximise future returns on our owned fleet,” Filanowski added.