SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 6-K
REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER PURSUANT TO RULE 13A-16 OR 15D-16 OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the month of December 2020
Commission File Number: 001-34153
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Global Ship Lease, Inc.
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(Translation of registrant's name into English)
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c/o Global Ship Lease Services Limited
25 Wilton Road
London SW1V 1LW
United Kingdom
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(Address of principal executive office)
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Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F.
Form 20-F [X] Form 40-F [ ]
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1): [ ].
Note: Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1) only permits the submission in paper of a Form 6-K if submitted solely to provide an
attached annual report to security holders.
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7): [ ].
Note: Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7) only permits the submission in paper of a Form 6-K if submitted to furnish a report or
other document that the registrant foreign private issuer must furnish and make public under the laws of the jurisdiction in which the registrant is incorporated, domiciled or legally organized (the registrant's "home country"), or under the rules of
the home country exchange on which the registrant's securities are traded, as long as the report or other document is not a press release, is not required to be and has not been distributed to the registrant's security holders, and, if discussing a
material event, has already been the subject of a Form 6-K submission or other Commission filing on EDGAR.
INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS FORM 6-K REPORT
Attached to this Report on Form 6-K (this “Report”) as Exhibit 99.1 is a copy of the press release of Global Ship Lease, Inc. (the “Company”), dated December 9, 2020, announcing
(i) an increase in the credit rating of its 9.875% First Priority Senior Secured Notes due 2022 (the “Notes”) by S&P Global Ratings and (ii) the completion of its mandatory redemption of $28.0 million aggregate principal amount of Notes.
Attached to this Report as Exhibit 99.2 is a copy of the press release of the Company, dated December 9, 2020, announcing that the Company declared a
quarterly dividend on its Series B Preferred Shares for the third quarter of 2020.
The information contained in this Report, except for the commentary of George Youroukos contained in Exhibit 99.1, is hereby incorporated by
reference into the Company’s registration statements on Form F-3 (File Nos. 333-231509, 333-234343 and 333-235305).
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
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GLOBAL SHIP LEASE, INC.
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(registrant)
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Dated: December 10, 2020
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By:
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/s/ Ian J. Webber
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Ian J. Webber
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Chief Executive Officer
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Exhibit 99.1
Global Ship Lease’s First Priority Senior Secured Notes Upgraded to BB- by S&P Global Ratings; $28.0 Million Partial Redemption Completed
LONDON, December 9, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) – Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE: GSL) (the “Company”), a leading independent owner of containerships, today announced
that S&P Global Ratings (“S&P”) has upgraded the issue rating of the Company’s first priority senior secured notes to BB- from B+. In announcing its review, S&P cited improving market conditions, positive momentum for charter rates,
resilient EBITDA, accelerated debt reduction, and a steeper than expected demand recovery for Global Ship Lease’s container liner counterparties.
George Youroukos, Executive Chairman of Global Ship Lease, commented, “By remaining active, opportunistic, and in close contact with our container liner
customers, Global Ship Lease has been a significant beneficiary of the outperformance of the container shipping sector in the second half of 2020. The sharp recovery in containerized freight demand, with year-over-year volume increases driven by a
marked shift in consumer spending from services to goods, has resulted in a sustained surge of demand for mid-sized Post-Panamax and smaller containerships like those in our fleet. This heightened demand has driven idle capacity in these size classes
to near zero and enabled us to pro-actively extend or secure new charters at attractive rates and durations. We have simultaneously continued to make progress in improving our leverage profile, including the recent completion of our mandatory
redemption of $28,000,000 of aggregate principal amount of our 9.875% Senior Secured Notes (the “Notes”), which leaves approximately $233,436,000 of the Notes outstanding. From this position of strength, and with S&P now joining Moody’s in
acknowledging our improved credit profile, we are well placed in our pursuit of an opportunistic refinancing of the Notes.”
Additional information regarding Global Ship Lease’s rating can be found in the report dated December 9, 2020 on S&P Global Ratings website at www.spglobal.com/ratingsdirect.
About Global Ship Lease
Global Ship Lease is a leading independent owner of containerships with a diversified fleet of mid-sized and smaller containerships. Incorporated in the Marshall
Islands, Global Ship Lease commenced operations in December 2007 with a business of owning and chartering out containerships under fixed-rate charters to top tier container liner companies. On November 15, 2018, it completed a strategic combination
with Poseidon Containers.
Global Ship Lease owns 43 containerships, ranging from 2,207 to 11,040 TEU, with a total capacity of 245,280 TEU and an
average age, weighted by TEU capacity, of 13.4 years as at September 30, 2020. 25 ships are Post-Panamax, of which nine are fuel-efficient new-design wide-beam.
Adjusted to include all charters agreed, and ships acquired or divested, up to November 12, 2020, the average remaining term
of the Company’s charters at September 30, 2020, to the mid-point of redelivery, including options under the Company’s control, was 2.3 years on a TEU-weighted basis. Contracted revenue on the same basis was $688.9 million. Contracted revenue was
$764.9 million, including options under charterers’ control and with latest redelivery date, representing a weighted average remaining term of 2.6 years.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements provide the Company’s current expectations or
forecasts of future events. Forward-looking statements include statements about the Company’s expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, intentions, assumptions and other statements that are not historical facts. Words or phrases such as “anticipate,”
“believe,” “continue,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “ongoing,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “will” or similar words or phrases, or the negatives of those words or phrases, may identify forward-looking statements, but the
absence of these words does not necessarily mean that a statement is not forward-looking. These forward-looking statements are based on assumptions that may be incorrect, and the Company cannot assure you that the events or expectations included in
these forward-looking statements will come to pass. Actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including the factors described in “Risk Factors” in the
Company’s Annual Report on Form 20-F and the factors and risks the Company describes in subsequent reports filed from time to time with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Accordingly, you should not unduly rely on these forward-looking
statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly revise any forward-looking statement to reflect circumstances or events after the date of this press release or to reflect the
occurrence of unanticipated events.
Investor and Media Contact:
The IGB Group
Bryan Degnan
646-673-9701
or
Leon Berman
212-477-8438
Exhibit 99.2
Investor and Media Contact:
The IGB Group
Bryan Degnan
646-673-9701
or
Leon Berman
212-477-8438
Global Ship Lease Declares Quarterly Dividend on its 8.75% Series B Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual
Preferred Shares
LONDON, December 9, 2020 – Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL) (the “Company”) announced today that the
Company’s Board of Directors has declared a cash dividend of $0.546875 per depositary share, each representing a 1/100th interest in a share of its 8.75% Series B Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Shares (the “Series B Preferred
Shares”) (NYSE:GSLPrB). The dividend represents payment for the period from October 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020 and will be paid on January 4, 2021 to all Series B Preferred Shareholders of record as of December 23, 2020.
About Global Ship Lease
Global Ship Lease is a leading independent owner of containerships with a diversified fleet of mid-sized
and smaller containerships. Incorporated in the Marshall Islands, Global Ship Lease commenced operations in December 2007 with a business of owning and chartering out containerships under fixed-rate charters to top tier container liner companies. On
November 15, 2018, it completed a strategic combination with Poseidon Containers.
Global Ship Lease owns 43 containerships, ranging from 2,207 to 11,040 TEU, with a total capacity of
245,280 TEU and an average age, weighted by TEU capacity, of 13.4 years as at September 30, 2020. 25 ships are Post-Panamax, of which nine are fuel-efficient new-design wide-beam.
Adjusted to include all charters agreed, and ships acquired or divested, up to November 12, 2020, the
average remaining term of the Company’s charters at September 30, 2020, to the mid-point of redelivery, including options under the Company’s control, was 2.3 years on a TEU-weighted basis. Contracted revenue on the same basis was $688.9 million.
Contracted revenue was $764.9 million, including options under charterers’ control and with latest redelivery date, representing a weighted average remaining term of 2.6 years.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements provide the Company's current expectations or forecasts of future events. Forward-looking statements include statements about the Company's expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives,
intentions, assumptions and other statements that are not historical facts. Words or phrases such as "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "ongoing," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "will"
or similar words or phrases, or the negatives of those words or phrases, may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not necessarily mean that a statement is not forward-looking. These forward-looking statements are
based on assumptions that may be incorrect, and the Company cannot assure you that the events or expectations included in these forward-looking statements will come to pass. Actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied by
the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including the factors described in "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 20-F and the factors and risks the Company describes in subsequent reports filed from time to
time with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Accordingly, you should not unduly rely on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly revise any
forward-looking statement to reflect circumstances or events after the date of this press release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.