Diana Shipping has taken its takeover fight for Genco Shipping & Trading straight to shareholders, launching a tender offer to acquire the US-listed bulker owner for $23.50 per share in cash after months of failed engagement with the board.

The Athens-based owner, which already holds about 14.8% of Genco, said the offer values the target at a roughly 31% premium to its undisturbed share price and is fully financed, removing execution risk from the deal.

The bid is set to run until early June, unless extended. If successful, Diana plans to follow up with a second-step merger to acquire any remaining shares at the same price.

The latest step ramps up a takeover battle that has been running since late last year, with Genco repeatedly rejecting earlier approaches.

Diana chief executive Semiramis Paliou stated that the company had spent five months attempting to engage with Genco’s board on a fully financed, all-cash proposal, but had received no meaningful response. She argued that taking the offer directly to shareholders was now the only route to progress the transaction.

“The Genco board has refused every attempt — not a single meeting, not a single phone call — and has not responded to the merger agreement we delivered,” she said.

The offer was initially pitched at $20.60 per share in November before being raised to $23.50 in March. Diana maintained that the latest bid reflects full net asset value at a time when vessel prices are near cyclical highs, offering shareholders an immediate exit at levels the stock has historically struggled to reach. Genco currently trades at around $24.50 per share.

To support the acquisition, Diana has secured $1.43bn in committed financing from a group of banks, including DNB, Nordea, BNP Paribas, Standard Chartered, Deutsche Bank and Danske Bank.

In tandem with the takeover push, the company has lined up a deal with fellow bulker heavyweight Star Bulk Carriers to sell 16 of Genco’s vessels for $470.5m in cash upon completion, a move that would help reshape the combined fleet and manage leverage following the takeover.

Diana argued that the cash offer compares favourably to Genco’s dividend profile, noting that it would take more than a decade of payouts at recent levels for shareholders to match the value on the table today.

The offer is conditional on several factors, including the signing of a merger agreement, shareholder acceptance of a majority of shares, and the removal or neutralisation of Genco’s shareholder rights plan, which Diana has criticised as a barrier preventing investors from freely tendering their holdings.

Alongside the bid, Diana has also nominated six independent directors to Genco’s board, signalling that it is prepared to pursue governance changes if the current standoff continues.

The latest move follows months of increasingly public tension between the two companies. Splash has previously reported on Diana’s initial takeover push, Genco’s rejection of the proposals, and a subsequent proxy battle as Diana sought to win shareholder backing. The dispute has since widened to include disagreements over the timing of Genco’s annual meeting, with Diana accusing the board of delaying the process to limit investor influence.