TMI Taylor Maritime Investments Limited

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This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation EU 596/2014 as it forms part of retained EU law (as defined in the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018).

5 April 2024

Taylor Maritime Investments Limited

Grindrod Shipping Holdings Ltd announces Selective Capital Reduction

The Board of Taylor Maritime Investments Limited ("TMI" or the "Company"), the listed specialist dry bulk shipping investment company, is pleased to announce that its subsidiary, Grindrod Shipping Holdings Ltd ("Grindrod"), has today announced that it proposes to implement a selective capital reduction exercise (the "Selective Capital Reduction") pursuant to sections 78G to 78I of the Companies Act 1967 of Singapore.

Under the Selective Capital Reduction, Grindrod proposes to cancel all of the shares held by its shareholders, other than the shares held by Good Falkirk (MI) Limited ("Good Falkirk"), comprising 3,479,225 shares. Good Falkirk is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company through which the Company currently holds its existing stake in Grindrod.

Each participating Grindrod shareholder will, subject to the implementation of the Selective Capital Reduction and the satisfaction of certain conditions described below, receive US$14.25 for each Grindrod share that is cancelled.

The Selective Capital Reduction must be approved by way of a special resolution at an extraordinary general meeting of Grindrod. The Company, Good Falkirk and their respective concert parties will abstain and not vote on the special resolution relating to the Selective Capital Reduction.

The Selective Capital Reduction will also be conditional on (i) the grant of an order by the High Court of the Republic of Singapore approving the Selective Capital Reduction and such court order having become final, (ii) the receipt of approval from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange for the corporate action timetable and the circular to Grindrod shareholders, and (iii) receipt of the approval of the Financial Surveillance Department of the South African Reserve Bank for the Selective Capital Reduction and the cash distribution in connection therewith.

If the Selective Capital Reduction is successfully completed, Grindrod will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company. 

Further details of the Selective Capital Reduction can be found in the announcement released by Grindrod.

ENDS

The person responsible for arranging for the release of this announcement on behalf of the Company is Matt Falla, Sanne Fund Services (Guernsey) Limited, Company Secretary.

Notes to Editors 

About the Company 

Taylor Maritime Investments Limited is an internally managed investment company listed on the Premium Segment of the Official List, its shares trading on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange since May 2021.  The Company specializes in the acquisition and chartering of vessels in the Handysize and Supra/Ultramax bulk carrier segments of the global shipping sector.  The Company invests in a diversified portfolio of vessels which are primarily second-hand.  TMI's fleet portfolio currently numbers 19 vessels in the geared dry bulk segment.  The ships are employed utilising a variety of employment/charter strategies.

On 20 December 2022, the Company announced it acquired a controlling majority interest in Grindrod Shipping Holdings Ltd ("Grindrod") (NASDAQ:GRIN, JSE:GSH), a Singapore incorporated, dual listed company on NASDAQ and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.  Grindrod has an owned fleet of 17 dry bulk vessels complementary to the Company's fleet.  They are Japanese built, including 10 Handysize vessels and 7 Supra/Ultramax vessels.  Grindrod has seven vessels in its chartered in fleet with purchase options on three.

The combined TMI and Grindrod fleet numbers 39 vessels (including chartered in vessels with purchase options).

The Company's target dividend policy is 8 cents p.a. paid on a quarterly basis, with a targeted total NAV return of 10-12% per annum over the medium to long-term.

The Company has the benefit of an experienced Executive Team led by Edward Buttery and who previously worked closely together at Taylor Maritime.  Taylor Maritime was established in 2014 as a privately owned ship-owning and management business with a seasoned team including the founders of dry bulk shipping company Pacific Basin Shipping (listed in Hong Kong 2343.HK) and gas shipping company BW Epic Kosan (formerly Epic Shipping) (listed in Oslo BWEK:NO).  The commercial and technical management arms of Taylor Maritime were acquired by Grindrod in October 2023.    

For more information, please visit www.taylormaritimeinvestments.com.

About Geared Vessels

Geared vessels are characterised by their own loading equipment. The Handysize and Supra/Ultramax market segments are particularly attractive, given the flexibility, versatility and port accessibility of these vessels which carry necessity goods - principally food and products related to infrastructure building - ensuring broad diversification of fleet activity and stability of earnings through the cycle.

IMPORTANT NOTICE

The information in this announcement may include forward-looking statements, which are based on the current expectations and projections about future events and in certain cases can be identified by the use of terms such as "may", "will", "should", "expect", "anticipate", "project", "estimate", "intend", "continue", "target", "believe" (or the negatives thereon) or other variations thereon or comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions about the Company, including, among other things, the development of its business, trends in its operating industry, and future capital expenditures and acquisitions. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the events in the forward-looking statements may not occur.

References to target dividend yields and returns are targets only and not profit forecasts and there can be no assurance that these will be achieved