Seaspan halts stock and bond sale, 'not best interest of shareholders'
NEW YORK-listed independent owner and containership manager, Seaspan Corporation, based in Vancouver but administered from Hong Kong, was to launch sales of shares and convertible notes via public offerings, but has since cancelled the offering.
A statement from the non-operating shipowner said the sale, expected to raise US$250 million to buy new ships, "would not be in the best interests of our shareholders", reported Newark's Journal of Commerce.
Earlier Seaspan said it planned to offer 5.7 million Class A common shares and grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 855,000 shares, reported Lloyd's List.
Seaspan hoped it might raise $135.7 million from the offerings when not taking the option into consideration. There would have been an additional offer convertible notes worth $125 million and grant the underwriters a 30-day option to additional notes worth $18.8 million.
The notes, were to mature in 2018, would have been convertible to cash, common shares or any combination of these at Seaspan's election, but not freely redeemable prior to maturity.
At the time, the company said: "Seaspan intends to use the net proceeds... for general corporate purposes, which may include funding vessel acquisitions," the statement said. The announcement comes after the company last week exercised options for five 10,000 TEU boxships at Yangzijiang Shipbuilding at $90 million apiece in the recent industry-wide post-panamax ordering spree. The company has booked 24 ships of 10,000 TEU or larger this year.
NEW YORK-listed independent owner and containership manager, Seaspan Corporation, based in Vancouver but administered from Hong Kong, was to launch sales of shares and convertible notes via public offerings, but has since cancelled the offering.
A statement from the non-operating shipowner said the sale, expected to raise US$250 million to buy new ships, "would not be in the best interests of our shareholders", reported Newark's Journal of Commerce.
Earlier Seaspan said it planned to offer 5.7 million Class A common shares and grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 855,000 shares, reported Lloyd's List.
Seaspan hoped it might raise $135.7 million from the offerings when not taking the option into consideration. There would have been an additional offer convertible notes worth $125 million and grant the underwriters a 30-day option to additional notes worth $18.8 million.
The notes, were to mature in 2018, would have been convertible to cash, common shares or any combination of these at Seaspan's election, but not freely redeemable prior to maturity.
At the time, the company said: "Seaspan intends to use the net proceeds... for general corporate purposes, which may include funding vessel acquisitions," the statement said. The announcement comes after the company last week exercised options for five 10,000 TEU boxships at Yangzijiang Shipbuilding at $90 million apiece in the recent industry-wide post-panamax ordering spree. The company has booked 24 ships of 10,000 TEU or larger this year.