Parakou Tankers to Go Public and Buy 20 Ships

St. Johnanis product tanker at Falmouth dry dock in 2012, image via GeorgeAJMarshall/wikipedia

Singapore-based shipowner Parakou Tankers announced today it has agreed to merge with NASDAQ-listed Cambridge Capital Acquisition Corporation and pursue an active growth program whereby they will grow their existing fleet of eight MR clean product tankers by twenty ships by Q4 2017.

As a result of the merger, Parakou will be owned by a newly created subsidiary of Cambridge called Cambridge Holdco which will ultimately be renamed Parakou Tankers, Inc and be listed on the NASDAQ under the symbols “PRKU” and “PRKUW,” respectively.

Mr. Por Liu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Parakou, will receive 5.8 million common shares of the new company at the closing of the merger (valued at approximately $10.10 per share), in exchange for all of Parakou’s outstanding shares immediately prior to the merger. Should the new company hit share price targets, 2 million additional shares may be issues to Liu.

“We are very pleased to have Cambridge as our partner going forward,” commented Liu. “We believe that joining forces with Cambridge will enable Parakou to realize both its near term and longer term growth objectives as a Nasdaq-listed company in the U.S. This is especially important in our industry, owning and operating a modern fleet of MR product tankers, which we believe has compelling long-term fundamentals. In addition, this merger affords us the ability to accelerate our growth at an opportune time as our industry is at an inflection point as evidenced by recent increasing rates.”

Benjamin Gordon, Chief Executive Officer of Cambridge, commented, “We’ve spent the last year looking for the best supply chain/logistics/transportation company with which to merge. We are extremely pleased to be investing in Parakou Tankers. Under Por Liu’s leadership, the company is becoming a major force in the product tanker market, and we are excited to partner with such a well respected operator.”

Mr. Gordon added, “We believe this is a very attractive time to invest in the product tanker market, as demand for refined petroleum products continues to grow globally. In addition to providing Parakou with immediate growth capital to fund fleet expansion, we also hope to bring to bear our capital markets and M&A expertise to help Por’s management team grow value for all shareholders.”

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