TBS plans secondary stock sale

TBS International Ltd. said it hopes to raise about $93 million through a secondary stock offering.

The company, which operates a fleet of multipurpose and breakbulk ships, said it is planning a follow-on offering of    3.4 million Class A common shares. Two million shares will be sold by the company and shareholders will offer an additional 1.4 million shares.

Jefferies & Co. Inc. and Banc of America Securities LLC are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering, and the company is granting them an option to purchase an additional 510,000 shares.

The company estimates that net proceeds will be $93.4 million, assuming a public offering price of $49.70 per share, which was the last reported sale price of the shares on Nasdaq on May 9, and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and our estimated offering expenses. TBS will not directly receive any of the proceeds from the sale of the 1.4 million shares by the selling shareholders.

The company said it intends to use the net proceeds for    general corporate purposes, including the acquisition of secondhand vessels, the acquisition or construction of newbuild vessels, repayment of debt, additions to working capital or capital expenditures.

It said a $1 increase or decrease in the assumed public offering price of $49.70 per share would increase or decrease the amount of proceeds by $1.9 million.

Including two vessels under purchase contract, the TBS fleet includes 44 ships comprising 23 multipurpose tweendeckers and 21 handymax/handysize bulk carriers. 

Source: American Shipper