Just hours before the ball drop in TimesSquare the Nasdaq-listed bulker and tanker owner unveiled plans to resume the periodicsale of shares by way of a previously announced at-the-market (ATM) offering.
In a statement released an hour beforethe end of the US business day Tuesday the Athens-based operator noted it hasalready pocketed around $24.1m in proceeds from the sale of nearly 7 millionshares to date.
The total implies its agent, anaffiliate of Manhattan-based investment bank Evercore Partners, offloaded stockfor approximately $3.50 a piece on average, which is well below the $4.70 premiumseen at today’s close.
Shares of DryShips, which have experienced52-week low of $1.53 and high of $5.00 over the same period of time, plummeted6.17% to $4.41 in afterhours trading as investors digested a development that likelyreignited fears about dilution.
While the rationale behind today’s decision isn’tclear the move likely caught many off guard since the company shelved the fundraiserearlier this month even though it warned shareholders that it reserved theright to reactivate the ATM or pull the plug altogether atanytime.
DryShips first announced plans to enlist a sales agent to offload commonshares on its behalf back in October under a broader crusade to cure debilitating financialmaladies and stabilise its overallhealth.
“Dry-bulk shipping rates and shipvalues have increased recently and we believe this trend will continueparticularly in the larger asset classes,” Economou, the company’s chiefexecutive, told investors at the time.
“Given the improved market backdrop, we believe this is an opportune timeto flexibly access the equity capital markets to reduce some or all of ourfunding needs through 2014 that we currently estimate at $150m.”
More recently the Greek shipping magnatesaid DryShipswould likely need to raise $130m in new equity, which waswell below the estimate issued in the first and second quarters of 2013. Following today's announcement, however, some industry observers believe the bar may have been raised.
