Diana Shipping lets Genco tender expire but keeps takeover bid alive
The Athens-based owner will not revive its hostile tender offer, though its separate all-cash proposal for its US dry bulk rival remains on the table.
Diana Shipping has allowed its hostile tender offer for US dry bulk rival Genco Shipping & Trading to expire, ending the formal tender process it had launched earlier in its pursuit of the company. The Athens-based owner confirmed it would neither extend nor revive the tender following its expiry on July 24.
Despite dropping the tender route, Diana said it is keeping its separate proposal to acquire Genco for $27.34 per share on the table, signalling that its broader takeover ambitions remain intact even as the specific mechanism it used to press its case has lapsed. The distinction between the expired tender and the standing proposal leaves the two companies in a continued standoff over Genco's future ownership.
A tender offer allows an acquirer to appeal directly to a target company's shareholders, bypassing the target's board if necessary, and is typically used when a hostile approach has not secured management support. Its expiry without extension suggests Diana judged that continuing the tender in its current form was no longer the most effective path toward a deal, without abandoning its interest in Genco altogether.
Genco has not indicated whether it is open to negotiating directly with Diana on the terms of the standing proposal, and the two dry bulk owners have clashed publicly over the merits of a combination in recent months. Any eventual transaction would create one of the larger US-listed dry bulk shipping companies, combining two fleets built around similar bulk carrier segments.
With the tender now closed and the takeover proposal still formally on the table, attention turns to whether Diana pursues an alternative approach to advance its bid, or whether the standoff between the two companies continues without near-term resolution. Genco's response to the still-open proposal is likely to shape the next phase of the dispute.
