Diana and Genco trade fire before tender deadline
Genco urges holders not to tender as Diana questions its resistance
The takeover battle between Diana Shipping and Genco Shipping & Trading has sharpened in the hours before Diana's tender offer deadline, with the two owners trading barbs over price.
Genco urged its shareholders not to tender, pointing out that the live offer was for $24.80 per share in cash, not the $27.34 cash-and-stock figure Diana has been promoting. The New York-listed bulker owner said Diana had taken two separate steps, a tender offer at $24.80 a share in cash and a separate, non-binding proposal to its board of $24.80 in cash plus one Diana share, and that the tender materials had not been updated to match the later proposal, which it said undervalued the company.
Diana hit back within hours, asking why Genco was so afraid of the tender and accusing the board of leaning on technical arguments rather than negotiating. The Semiramis Paliou-led owner said shareholders who tendered would signal that Genco should come to the table. Diana, which owns more than 14% of Genco, said 10.6m shares, equal to 28.4% of the stock it does not already own, had been tendered as of 26 June, with the deadline set for 10 July.
