AS Tallink Grupp concludes sale-charterback agreements for MS Superstar
AS Tallink Grupp subsidiary Tallink Superfast Limited has entered into agreement with Medinvest SpA (Corsica Ferries Group) to sell the fast ferry Superstar at price of EUR 91.5 million, the company says in its press release. Concurrently AS Tallink Grupp and Medinvest SpA have entered into bareboat charter agreement and Tallink will continue to operate the fast ferry Superstar on its Tallinn-Helsinki route shuttle service until beginning of 2017, when the Tallink’s new LNG fast ferry will start to operate on the same route. Change of the ownership and start of the charter period of the fast ferry Superstar is planned in December 2015.
The sale of fast ferry Superstar will result one-off book loss from sale approximately EUR 7.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2015 financial year. The cash proceeds from the sale will be used mainly to repay loans to continue the deleveraging strategy and for the down payment of the new LNG fast ferry under construction. The Group expects to incur one-off costs from premature termination of the loan contract, related to the sale of the vessel.
The sale of the fast ferry Superstar prepares the Group for the delivery of the new generation LNG fast ferry to the Tallinn-Helsinki route early 2017 and supports Tallink’s strategy to secure and strengthen its position in its route with largest passenger volumes.
