2007

Exploring New Paths to Public Equity

There’s more than one way to skin a cat, as they say. And never before has this been more true for a shipowner looking to raise outside equity than today. As the global capital markets continue to grow to ever new heights of complexity and depths of liquidity, it’s becoming ever more clear that the traditional thresholds and standards needed to access the public equity markets can be flexible if you take the right approach.

The recent Globus Maritime IPO and in-progress Paragon Shipping listing bring this phenomenon into relief. For those not familiar with these deals, Globus this month became the second shipping company to list on the London AIM (Alternative Investment Market). Paragon Shipping had actually considered listing on the AIM itself before turning to a Rule 144A private placement in the US. This month Paragon made its first public filings in preparation for the listing of its shares and warrants on the Nasdaq over-the-counter market in the US.

As the table that accompanies this article shows, the two deals despite being quite different in form and execution were strikingly similar in substance. Both Greek-led companies boast equity market capitalizations in the $100-$200 million range and used proceeds of the offering to acquire identified fleets. Both fleets comprised six dry bulk vessels of the handymax and panamax variety that were placed on mediumterm timecharters to reasonably creditworthy counterparties.

This is only an excerpt of The Week in Review – 06/14/2007

Content is restricted to subscribers. To continue reading please Log-In or view our subscription options.