The Greek bulk shipping company Diana Shipping wants to take over Genco – at any cost, it seems. Several bids followed in quick succession. Now Diana is also throwing shares into the mix.
Since November, Diana Shipping has been attempting to take over the US shipping company Genco. Diana already owns 14 per cent of the company’s shares, but would like to become the sole owner. Over the past few months, the Greek company has made several bids for Genco – ranging from an initial $20.60 in November to $24.80 at the end of May. So far, the American company has responded either with silence or terse rejections.
Diana, however, remains undeterred: just ahead of Genco’s annual general meeting, scheduled for today (18 June), the shipping company has raised its bid once again. The latest bid stands at $27.34 per share – this price comprises the previous offer of $24.80 plus one Diana share. Diana stated that the value of $2.54 corresponds to the market value as at 16 June.
The revised offer represents “attractive value” for Genco shareholders, according to sources in Greece. It represents a premium of 53 per cent over the closing price of Genco shares on 21 November 2025, the last trading day before Diana’s initial offer. Compared with the closing price on 16 June, this still represents a 16 per cent increase. Diana Shipping emphasised once again that the takeover bid remains backed by $1.433 billion in financing from six international banks.
A combined drybulk platform
“Since November 2025, we have submitted four increasingly compelling proposals to acquire Genco — the first three rejected by Genco’s Board without engaging with us in any way,” commented Diana CEO Semiramis Paliou. “At a total implied value of $27.34 per share, our Revised Offer provides Genco shareholders a meaningful premium, immediate, certain cash value, and the opportunity to participate in the significant upside of a combined drybulk platform at a scale that neither company could achieve alone.”
According to Paliou, the merger of Diana and Genco would create one of the world’s largest and most efficient operators in the dry-bulk shipping sector. Genco shareholders would be able to retain a stake in the bulk carrier market through their Diana shares, whilst at the same time receiving the certainty of an immediate cash payment of $24.80.
“Diana’s management team is strongly committed to the success of this transaction and to the long-term value of the combined company,” said Paliou. “As such, I and other executives intend to maintain our existing ownership percentages in Diana through open-market purchases of shares following completion of the transaction. Given this exceptional opportunity on the table, I urge the Genco Board to delay the Annual Meeting so that they and Genco shareholders have a proper opportunity to evaluate this offer on its merits. We remain eager and available to engage in good faith with the Board and their advisors.”
