International Seaways and Diamond S to merge

Written by Nick Blenkey
Lois Zabrocky, President and Chief Executive Officer, International Seaways, Inc.

Lois Zabrocky, President and Chief Executive Officer, International Seaways, Inc.: “With enhanced scale, financial strength and commercial expertise, we have markedly strengthened our position to capitalize on favorable long-term industry fundamentals.”

The boards of International Seaways Inc. (NYSE: INSW) and Diamond S Shipping Inc. (NYSE: DSSI) have unanimously approved a definitive agreement to a merger in which Seaways shareholders will hold approximately 55.75% of the stock in the merged company and Diamond S shareholders 44.25%.

Douglas Wheat, Lois Zabrocky and Jeffrey Pribor will continue to serve as the Chairman of the Board of Directors, CEO and Chief Financial Officer of INSW, respectively, and the current CEO of Diamond S, Craig Stevenson Jr., will join the Board of Directors of INSW, and also act as a special advisor to the CEO for a six-month period to ensure a smooth transition.

$2 BILLION ENTERPRISE VALUE

The merger will create the second largest U.S.-listed tanker company by vessel count and the third largest by deadweight. The combined company will have 100 vessels, shipping revenues of over $1 billion, over 2,200 employees, and an enterprise value of approximately $2 billion.

“We are excited to enter into this transformational transaction and create an industry bellwether,” said Lois Zabrocky, International Seaways’ president and CEO. “By bringing together two leading U.S.-based diversified tanker owners, we expect to deliver a number of compelling strategic and financial benefits to the stakeholders and customers of both companies.

“Specifically, with our enhanced scale and capabilities combined with a best-in-class ESG track record, we are ideally positioned to meet the evolving needs of leading energy companies and capitalize on favorable long-term industry fundamentals. With this highly accretive merger, we also expect to realize significant cost synergies while maintaining one of the lowest net leverage ratios in global shipping and increasing our equity market capitalization and liquidity for the benefit of our shareholders.”

Craig Stevenson Jr., president and CEO of Diamond S, commented, “By combining our fleet and capabilities with INSW’s world-class operations, we believe the merger will significantly benefit each company’s stakeholders as market conditions improve. Importantly, both INSW and Diamond S share a similar focus on people, safety, meeting customer expectation, maintaining balance sheet strength, and appropriately managing leverage in an inherently cyclical industry.

“As a long-time proponent of industry consolidation, I believe this transaction gives the combined company the scale and diversity necessary to hold the status as a leader in the tanker markets for years to come.”

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