Contact Information: For further information please contact: Company Contact: Dimitri Andritsoyiannis Chief Financial Officer Danaos Corporation Athens, Greece Tel: +30 210 419 6481 E-Mail: cfo@danaos.com Iraklis Prokopakis Chief Operating Officer Danaos Corporation Athens, Greece Tel. +30 210 419 6400 E-Mail: coo@danaos.com Investor Relations and Financial Media: Nicolas Bornozis President Capital Link, Inc. New York Tel. 212-661-7566 E-Mail: nbornozis@capitallink.com
Danaos Enters Into Agreement to Acquire Three Containerships Expanding Its Fleet to 31 Vessels
Vessels to Be Time Chartered by A.P. Moller-Maersk Group for Five Years
| Source: Danaos Corporation
ATHENS, GREECE -- (MARKET WIRE) -- November 29, 2006 -- Danaos Corporation (NYSE : DAC ) today
announced that it has signed contracts to acquire three 4,814 TEU vessels
from A.P. Moller-Maersk Group. These vessels, the MC Kinney Maersk, the
Mayview Maersk and the Madison Maersk, were delivered to A.P. Moller-Maersk
Group from the Odense Staalskibsverft shipyards in 1991. Upon delivery to
Danaos these vessels will be renamed to Maersk Marathon, Maersk Messologi
and Maersk Mytilini respectively.
The acquisition cost will be $43.15 million per vessel and they are
expected to be delivered to Danaos on December 11, December 17, and
December 21, 2006 respectively. The acquisition will be financed through
existing credit facilities and own funds. Subsequent to the acquisition of
these three vessels, Danaos' total fleet will increase to 31 containerships
aggregating 140,137 TEU. Furthermore, the company has on order 15
additional containerships aggregating 75,124 TEU with scheduled deliveries
up to the end of 2009.
Danaos also announced that it has arranged five-year time charter
agreements for all three vessels with A.P. Moller-Maersk Group at the rate
of $23,450 per vessel per day. After the initial five-year time charter
periods, A.P. Moller-Maersk Group will have four consecutive one-year
options to re-charter each ship for $22,400 per day, $21,400 per day,
$20,400 per day and $20,400 per day respectively.
Each new vessel is expected to contribute, in the first twelve months
following acquisition, approximately $8.4 million in incremental revenues
and approximately $6 million in incremental EBITDA. For this purpose,
EBITDA, a non-GAAP measure, shall mean net earnings before interest,
un-drawn credit facility fees, taxes, depreciation and amortization of
deferred financing fees. All three vessels have already performed their
five-year dry-docking planned maintenance in 2006.
"This acquisition marks a further step in our development," said Dr.
Coustas, Chief Executive Officer of Danaos. "We are pleased to further
expand our long standing relationship with A.P. Moller-Maersk Group, the
largest carrier in our market. Given our operational track record, we feel
confident that we will be able to operate these vessels in a very efficient
manner. This acquisition will be immediately accretive to cash flow upon
vessel delivery. Our detailed physical inspections of these vessels have
verified the A.P. Moller-Maersk Group reputation for designing and building
excellent vessels and maintaining them to a superior standard. Further, we
believe these vessels to have improved re-chartering value as, due to their
power regeneration systems, they have superior fuel saving capabilities. It
is Danaos' plan to continue to grow our business through accretive
acquisitions in order to grow our distributable cash flow and this
acquisition demonstrates our commitment to our corporate goals. The 4,814
TEU vessel size perfectly fits into our fleet which is comprised by Panamax
and Post Panamax size vessels."
About Danaos Corporation
Danaos Corporation is an international owner of containerships, chartering
its vessels to many of the world's largest liner companies. Upon delivery
of the three vessels that Danaos has agreed to acquire, its fleet will
consist of 31 containerships aggregating 140,137 TEUs ranking Danaos among
the largest containership charter owners in the world based on total TEU
capacity. Danaos is the largest US listed containership company based on
fleet size and market capitalization. Furthermore, the company has on order
15 additional containerships aggregating 75,124 TEU with scheduled
deliveries up to the end of 2009. The company's shares trade on the New
York Stock Exchange under the symbol "DAC."
Visit our website at www.danaos.com