Peter T. Leach | Jun 10, 2011 10:45AM EDT
Diana Containerships on Friday set the price of its public offering of 14.25 million shares of its common stock at $7.50 per share.
The Athens, Greece-based carrier, already listed on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange, said it would use the proceeds of the $168 million offering and a $20 million private placement of approximately 2.67 million common shares to Diana Shipping to repay a secured-term loan facility with DnB NOR Bank, to fund the balance of the $70.5 million cost of three containerships it agreed to acquire from Maersk Line and the balance to buy additional container ships and general corporate purposes, including working capital.
The offering is expected to close on June 15. The underwriters have a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 2.1375 million shares of common stock to cover over-allotments, if any.
Wells Fargo Securities, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Jefferies & Co. are acting as joint-book running managers for the offering.
Diana Containerships, which was spun off by dry bulk ship-owner Diana Shipping at the beginning of the year, operates five container ships with capacities ranging from 3,426 to 4,714 20-foot-equivalent units.
The carrier posted a first quarter profit of $256,829 compared with a year-earlier loss of $236,682 on charter revenue of $3.2 million.