Marathon acquires 66% of Global Ship Lease for $1b 

(MENAFN) Marathon Acquisition Corp., a New York-based takeover company, agreed to buy 66 percent of containership-owner Global Ship Lease Inc. in a transaction the companies valued at about $1 billion, Reuters reported.

Global Ship Lease's current owners, CMA CGM SA, will retain the remainder of the company's shares, Marathon said in a statement. The agreement includes about $511 million in debt, $310 million in cash and 25.2 million Marathon shares. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter.

Global Ship Lease owns 12 container ships, which transport finished products, and has an agreement with CMA of France to buy five more ships through July 2009. The ships will have an average age of 5.5 years. All of the vessels are under long-term charters of at least 11 years with CMA, the world's third-largest container shipping line.

Upon completion of the purchase, Marathon said it would seek the listing of Global Ship Lease shares on the New York Stock Exchange.