NASDAQ-listed Star Bulk Carriers, owned by Petros Pappas, maintains high investment interest.
Both Norwegian shipowner John Fredriksen and Dr. Ioannis Coustas’ Danaos are increasing their stakes in the shipping company, which manages a fleet of 151 bulk carriers, while it has a shipbuilding program underway for five modern eco-friendly kamsarmax ships
Today, the Norwegian shipowner controls 11.4% of the company’s share capital, while Danaos controls 5.23%.
There are many reasons behind the intense investment interest. On the one hand, the moves of Pappas, who has transformed Star Bulk into one of the largest dry bulk shipping management companies in the world through continuous mergers and acquisitions.
On the other hand, the share price, which, according to analysts, is trading well below its value.
More specifically, it is trading at 15.5 dollars, down from the 64.4 dollars that analysts estimate to be its fair value. They give a target price of approximately 20 dollars per share for the next 12 months.
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John Fredriksen has managed to control 11.4% of Star Bulk’s shares.
The Norwegian company purchased an additional 1.54 million shares of the listed shipping company and now owns 13,340,000 Star Bulk shares, corresponding to 11.39% of its share capital.
In March, Fredriksen announced the purchase of 10% of the Greek shipping company’s shares.
The Norwegian invested in Star Bulk after first selling the majority stake he held in the shipping company Golden Ocean to CMB.Tech, owned by the Saverys family, for 1.2 billion.
Petros Pappas, CEO of Star Bulk, had expressed his satisfaction with the tycoon’s entry into the company’s share capital, noting that his presence as a shareholder is a recognition of its value and prospects.
Analysts at Fearnley Securities, commenting on the investment at the time, described it as a “strong vote of confidence” in Star Bulk, but also in the dry bulk market as a whole.
Danaos, owned by Dr. Ioannis Coustas, is also moving in the same direction. The company, which is listed on the NYSE and is one of the largest independent containership companies in the world, while also managing bulkers, invested 32 million dollars last week to purchase 2.06 million shares in Star Bulk.
It is noted that Danaos was a shareholder of Eagle Bulk, which was absorbed by Pappas’ company, with a stake of approximately 14%. Today Danaos holds 6.13 million shares of Star Bulk, worth approximately 89 million dollars, with a stake of 5.23%.
