Global Ship Lease, Inc. announced that its indirect wholly-owned subsidiary, Knausen Holding LLC, has closed its previously announced offering of $350 million aggregate principal amount of its 5.69% Senior Secured Notes due 2027 in a private placement to a limited number of accredited investors, pursuant to a note purchase agreement.

Pricing on June 1, 2022 was based on the 3.2 year Interpolated US Treasury Yield (ICUR3.2) plus a spread of 2.85%.

The Company used a portion of the net proceeds from the private placement for the repayment of the remaining outstanding balance on its $236.2 Million Senior Secured Loan Facility (the “Hayfin Facility”) – which bore interest at LIBOR plus a margin of 7.00% – and the remainder is expected to be used for general corporate purposes, primarily the repayment of other outstanding consolidated indebtedness of the Company.

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC acted as Sole Structuring Agent and Lead Placement Agent. Credit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank and Hayfin Services LLP acted as advisors to the Issuer.

George Youroukos, Executive Chairman of Global Ship Lease, stated, “We are very pleased to have closed this private placement, which adds an exciting new source of capital to our portfolio. The transaction is well-collateralized and conservatively structured which, together with our risk-averse business model, appealed to investors and allowed us to bring pricing down from the previous spread of 7.00% to 2.85% for these new Notes. Securing the Notes against the same 20 vessel collateral pool as that released by the re-financing of the Hayfin Facility will also allow us to fully prepay both our 8.00% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2024 and our secured facility with Hellenic Bank, maturing 2024 and priced at LIBOR plus 3.90%. The latter will further increase our financial flexibility by releasing five unencumbered ships. Furthermore, the Notes amortize at 15% per year, allowing us to simultaneously de-risk and build equity value, prudently ensuring that the current strength in the charter market and asset values enhances GSL’s competitive and strategic position throughout cycles. With this transaction, we are delighted to have established new relationships with institutional investors, which we look forward to building upon going forward.”