Norwegian shipping tycoon John Fredriksen [ds_preview]has successfully pushed the growth strategy of Frontline. The offering for a share sale was fully subscribed.
The Newy York- and Oslo-listed tanker company announced that it plans to collect gross prceeds of 100 mill. $ through the offering. Arctic Securities has been mandated to assist the step. The Offering is directed towards certain Norwegian and international institutional investors. The subscription price was be 7.45 $ per New Share, which is a discount of 2.1 % to yesterday‘s closing price on the New York Stock Exchange, adjusted for the USD 0.10 dividend declared two weeks ago. Initially the largest shareholder, Cyprus-based Hemen Holding Ltd., indirectly controlled by Fredriksen and his family, owning 52% of the Company‘s ordinary shares, guaranteed the Offering. »If the Offering is oversubscribed, the allocation to Hemen may be reduced below its pro rata share in order to improve the free float«, it was announced.
Now, Frontline presented the outcome of the offering: It »has been successfully completed at USD 7.45 per New Share, raising gross proceeds of USD 100 million through the issuance of 13,422,819 New Shares.« According to the statement, the Offering was significantly oversubscribed, that‘s why Hemen agreed to be allocated 1,342,281 New Shares, corresponding to 10%. Therefore, the company will own an aggregate of 82,145,703 sharesg, equalling approximately 48.4 % of Frontline‘s shares and votes.
Frontline plans vessel acquisitions
»Following issuance of the New Shares the Company will have 169,809,325 issued common shares each having a par value of USD 1.00«, it was added. Fredriksen intends to use the net proceeds »to opportunistically fund growth opportunities through vessel acquisitions and for general corporate purposes«, Frontline announced without giving more details.
