Navios Maritime Holdings said it terminated a loan deal with tanker spinoff Navios Maritime Acquisition after the agreement drew criticism and sparked a shareholder lawsuit.

The Angeliki Frangou-led shipowner said the boards of directors of both New York-listed shipowners approved the cancellation of the $50m credit facility before Navios Holdings drew down any borrowings.

And even as the company defended the terms of the deal as fair and said the federal lawsuit it was "without merit", it cited the same litigation as the reason behind the decision to back out of the loan.

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