NEW YORK: Genco Shipping & Trading and Baltic Trading Limited has declared July 17 the date for an annual meeting of the two companies, where shareholders will vote on their proposed merger.
Genco will acquire NYSE-listed Baltic Trading in a stock-for-stock transaction, after which the combined company will be owned 84.5% by Genco and 15.5% by Baltic Trading shareholders.
A handful of law firms have announced their intentions to investigate the takeover plan, and intend to bring a class action lawsuit in the New York Supreme Court challenging the fairness of it. The firms have voiced concerns the board of Baltic Trading has breached its fiduciary duties to stockholders by failing to adequately shop the company before agreeing to enter into the transaction, and question Genco is underpaying for the Baltic shares.
In April when the merger was announced, Peter Georgiopoulos, chairman of both companies’ boards of directors, said: “The combined company will be poised to capitalize on opportunities in the current market environment, and we believe the combined platform is well positioned for continued growth as a consolidator in our industry.”
The combined company would own a fleet of 70 drybulk vessels.
