New Share Capital Registered; Commencement of Trading in New Shares
January 3, 2014
Reference is made to previous announcements by American Shipping Company ASA (OSE trading symbol: AMSC) (the "Company") in respect of the private placement (the "Private Placement") of a total of 24,500,000 new shares for gross proceeds of NOK 735 million, or approximately USD 120 million, and the conversion of USD 29,267,718 owed to Converto Capital Fund AS under a subordinated loan into 5,975,492 new shares (the "Debt Conversion"), forming part of a recapitalization of the Company.
The share capital increases pertaining to the new shares issued through the Private Placement and the Debt Conversion were today registered with the Norwegian Registry of Business Enterprises (Nw. Foretaksregisteret). After the registration, the registered share capital of AMSC is NOK 580,754,920 comprising of 58,075,492 shares each with a par value of NOK 10.00.
The new shares issued through the Private Placement and the Debt Conversion will be registered with the VPS under NO 0010272065 and be traded on Oslo Børs under the Company's trading symbol "AMSC". Such trading of the new shares will commence on January 6, 2014.
Arctic Securities and Pareto Securities have acted as Joint Lead Managers in connection with the Private Placement and financial advisors in connection with the recapitalization.
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AMSC is a ship owning company with ten modern handy size product tankers on long term bareboat charter with Overseas Shipholding Group (OSG). OSG charters the vessels out on time charters to major oil companies in the U.S. coastwise Jones Act trade. AMSC has a significant contract backlog as well as a profit sharing agreement with OSG which offers visibility with respect to future earnings and dividend capacity. The Company has an ambition to pay attractive and growing dividends to its shareholders.
This information is subject of the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.