Here's What Had DryShips Shares Moving Monday Morning

Shares of DryShips Inc. DRYS were trading lower by more than 15 percent Monday morning after the global shipping transportation company announced a new stock purchase agreement and acquisition announcement.

DryShips said in a press release it reached an agreement with Kalani Investments Limited, an entity not affiliated with the company, in which DryShips could sell up to $226.4 million of its common stock to Kalani over a two-year period.

Proceeds from any future sales will be used for general corporate purposes, but no purchases have been confirmed yet. DryShips did, however, agree to issue up to $1.5 million of its common stock to Kalani as a commitment fee.

DryShips dominated headlines in 2016 when its stock soared from under $5 per share to over $100 per share in days. A series of reverse stock splits sent the stock trading as low as $1.29 per share Monday, down nearly 100 percent from its split-adjusted, 52-week high of $2,227.20.

Acquisition Of Vessels

DryShips also announced Monday it has agreed to acquire six vessels for a total cost of $268 million. One of the vessels is an Aframax tanker, three are Kamsarmax drybulk vessels and two are very large gas carriers.

The new vessels will be delivered to the company as soon as the second quarter of 2017, and all six will be delivered by year's end. DryShips noted that the acquisition will be financed through a combination of cash on hand, liquidity under an existing senior secured credit line and new bank debt.

Over the past three months, DryShips has acquired a total of 14 vessels for $662 million, the most recent of which occurred on March 27 when it acquired four modern Newcastlemax bulk carriers of approximately 206,000 DWT.

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