The contest surrounding Genco Maritime has entered a new phase, with Star Bulk now backing Diana Shipping’s revised effort to acquire the US-listed dry bulk owner.
The latest development adds another chapter to the ongoing consolidation of listed shipping companies, a trend highlighted by shipping banker Mark Friedman of Evercore during the Marine Money Forum in New York in November 2025. At that event, Friedman described the sharp decline in the number of publicly listed shipping companies over recent years, driven by mergers and take-private transactions.
Examples of that trend include Star Bulk’s 2024 acquisition of Eagle Bulk, the privatisation of Overseas Shipholding by Saltchuk, and the still-unfolding deal that would bring Great Lakes Dredge & Dock into Saltchuk’s orbit as well.
Against that backdrop, Genco Maritime has remained independent since its 2025 IPO, despite repeated market volatility. Its history includes a pre-packaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in 2014, which brought in private equity investors, and an unsuccessful 2024 attempt by Greek shipowner George Economou to secure board seats. Today, Genco operates a fleet of 44 vessels totalling 5.1 million dwt across the Supramax, Ultramax and Capesize segments, with one Newcastlemax still to join the fleet.
For several months, Genco has been the focus of Diana Shipping, which has built a 14.8% stake in the company through open-market purchases. In late November 2025, Diana proposed acquiring the rest of Genco at $20.60 per share, a premium to the share price, which was just below $19 at the time. Genco rejected the approach and even suggested that, given GNK’s market capitalisation was higher than Diana’s, it could theoretically reverse the move and acquire Diana instead.
Late last week, with Genco’s share price having risen and broader market sentiment unsettled by the renewed hostilities in the Middle East, Diana returned with an improved proposal. The revised offer values the remaining Genco shares at $23.50 each, placing the total deal value at around $860 million.
Diana has said it has lined up possible financing worth $1.43 billion arranged by DNB Carnegie, Nordea and other leading international banks.
What gives the latest proposal added weight is Star Bulk’s involvement. The listed dry bulk giant, which operates 141 vessels with a combined capacity of 14 million dwt, has entered into a conditional agreement with Diana. Under that arrangement, if Diana succeeds in acquiring Genco, Star Bulk would purchase 16 vessels for a total of $470.5 million. That transaction would significantly reduce what could otherwise become an unsustainable level of bank debt on Diana’s balance sheet after a full acquisition.
Diana said the new $23.50 per share proposal represents a meaningful premium over its November 2025 offer and, importantly, reflects a price-to-net asset value ratio of 1.0x based on Clarksons Securities’ NAV estimate. According to the company, that is above the valuation multiples at which Genco has historically traded.
Genco responded to the March 6, 2026 proposal by saying its board would review the revised non-binding indicative offer with the help of external advisers and take whatever steps it believes are in the best interests of the company and all shareholders.
The debate also highlights a broader issue in dry bulk shipping: the persistent difficulty public companies face in trading at or near net asset value. That valuation gap has been one of the main drivers behind the consolidation trend discussed by Friedman and others in the sector. It was also one of the reasons cited when Eagle Bulk agreed to be acquired by Star Bulk in a share-for-share transaction that closed in April 2024.
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