30th Nov 2007 07:34
Hellenic Carriers Limited30 November 2007 This announcement has been prepared by Hellenic Carriers Limited ("Hellenic" orthe "Company") in connection with the application for admission of the entireissued ordinary share capital of the Company (the "Ordinary Shares") to AIM andto trading on AIM of the London Stock Exchange for listed securities (the"Admission") and a placing of the ordinary shares of the Company (the"Placing"). This announcement does not constitute a prospectus or an admissiondocument relating to the Company, nor does it constitute or form part of anyoffer or invitation to purchase, sell or subscribe for, or any solicitation ofany such offer to purchase, sell or subscribe for, any securities in the Companynor shall this announcement or any part of it, or the fact of its distribution,form the basis of, or be relied on in connection with, any contract therefore. First Day of Dealings on AIM Press Release 30 November 2007 Hellenic Carriers Limited ("Hellenic" or the "Company") today announces thefirst day of trading of its ordinary shares on AIM, the market owned andoperated by London Stock Exchange plc ("AIM"). Jefferies International Limited("Jefferies") is acting as Nominated Adviser and broker to the Company. Theticker (trading symbol) is HCL. Hellenic owns and operates a fleet of dry bulk vessels that transport iron ore,coal, grain, steel products, cement, alumina, and other dry bulk cargoesworldwide. Its current fleet consists of four vessels, comprising threepanamaxes and one handymax. The Company has also contracted to acquire asupramax (a larger handymax vessel) which is scheduled for delivery between 1March and 30 April 2008. Including the new supramax vessel to be delivered,Hellenic's fleet has an aggregate carrying capacity of 298,761 dwt and aweighted average age of 13.2 years as at 1 November 2007. Admission to trading follows a placing of the Company's ordinary shares (the "Placing"), which raised approximately £29.0 million (US$60.0 million) beforeexpenses at the Placing price of 212 pence per ordinary share. The Company willhave a market capitalisation of £96.7 million (approximately US$200.0 million)based on the Placing price. Placing statistics • Placing price 212 pence • Number of new ordinary shares placed on behalf of the Company 13,684,970 • Number of ordinary shares in issue after the Placing and Admission 45,616,851 • Market capitalisation of the Company at the Placing price £96.7 million • New ordinary shares as a percentage of enlarged issued share capital 30.0% • Gross proceeds of the Placing available to the Company £29.0 million • Estimated net proceeds of the Placing available to the Company £26.8 million • AIM symbol HCL • ISIN for the ordinary shares JE00B2904G88 All U.S. dollar amounts are based on the noon-buying exchange as published byFederal Reserve Bank of New York for Pounds Sterling on 26 November 2007 ofUS$2.0681 for each £1.00. Fotini Karamanlis, Chief Executive Officer, commented, "I am very happy with theadmission of the company's shares on AIM today and view this as an importantstep in the company's strategy. Our shipping business was founded by the lateKonstantine Diamantis over 50 years ago, and is now about to enter a new era. "The listing of our shares will provide us with the resources for prudent growththrough fleet expansion. In addition our flexible chartering strategy, whichbalances medium to long term charters with reputable customers is structured tobenefit from the favourable market conditions in the dry bulk sector whilstgenerating visible and stable cash flows during the shipping cycle. "I would like to thank our new institutional investors for their very positivereception, acknowledging our track record of efficiency and profitability,especially during volatile times for the capital markets and welcome themonboard as shareholders of Hellenic." For further information please contact: Hellenic Carriers Limited Fotini Karamanlis, Chief Executive Officer: +30 210 455 8900 E-mail: [email protected] Jefferies International Limited Nick Davies +44 20 7618 3500 Schuyler Evans Taylor Rafferty - Capital Link Rob Newman +44 20 7614 2900 E-Mail: [email protected] ------ends------ This announcement, for which Hellenic Carriers Limited ("Hellenic") and itsdirectors are solely responsible, has been approved by Jefferies InternationalLimited ("Jefferies") solely for the purpose of section 21 of the FinancialServices and Markets Act 2000. Jefferies, which is authorised and regulated inthe United Kingdom by the Financial Services Authority, is acting exclusivelyfor Hellenic Carriers, as its nominated adviser and broker, and for no one elsein relation to the Placing. Jefferies will not regard any other person (whetheror not a recipient of this announcement) as their client in relation to theplacing and will not be responsible to anyone other than Hellenic for providingthe protections afforded to clients of Jefferies or for providing any advice inrelation to the Placing, the contents of this announcement or any transaction orarrangement referred to herein. The responsibility of Jefferies as nominatedadviser is owed solely to London Stock Exchange plc and not to Hellenic or itsdirectors or any other person in respect of his decision to acquire shares inHellenic in reliance on any part of this announcement. No representation or warranty, express or implied, is made or given by or onbehalf of Hellenic or Jefferies or any of their respective directors, partners,officers, employees, agents or advisers or any other person (whether or notreferred to in this announcement) as to the accuracy, completeness or fairnessof the information or opinions contained herein and no responsibility orliability is accepted by any of them for any such information or opinions. This announcement does not constitute, or form part of, the placing or any offeror invitation to sell or issue, or any solicitation of any offer to subscribefor any ordinary shares in any jurisdiction, nor shall this announcement or anypart of it, or the fact of its distribution, form the basis of, or be reliedupon in connection with, or act as an inducement to enter into, any contract orcommitment whatsoever with respect to the Placing or otherwise. No reliance maybe placed for any purpose whatsoever on the information contained in thisannouncement or on its completeness. Any offer or invitation to subscribe forany ordinary shares will be made solely in or by reference to the AIM admissiondocument and any acquisition of ordinary shares in the Company should be madeonly on the basis of the information contained in the AIM admission document. In the United Kingdom, this announcement is addressed only to, and is directedonly at (i) persons who have professional experiences in matters relating toinvestments who fall within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and MarketsAct 2000 (Financial Promotions) Order 2005 (the "Order") and high net worthentities falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order, and (ii) personsto whom it may otherwise lawfully be communicated (all such persons togetherbeing referred to as "relevant persons"). This announcement must not be acted onor relied on by persons who are not relevant persons. Any investments orinvestment activity to which this announcement relates is available only torelevant persons and will be engaged in only with relevant persons. The Placing is being made in the United Kingdom by means of an offer toinstitutional investors. The Placing and the distribution of this announcementand other information in connection with the Placing in certain jurisdictionsmay be restricted by law and persons into whose possession any document or otherinformation referred to herein comes should inform themselves about and observeany such restriction. Any failure to comply with these restrictions mayconstitute a violation of the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. The information contained herein is not for publication or distribution into theUnited States. The material set forth herein is for information only and is notintended, and should not be construed, as an offer of securities for sale intothe United States or any other jurisdiction. The Placing is not being made,directly or indirectly, in or into the United States, Canada, Australia orJapan. Securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absentregistration under the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "SecuritiesAct"). The securities of the Company described herein have not been and will notbe registered under the Securities Act, or the laws of any state or jurisdictionin the United States, and may not be offered or sold within the United States,except pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, theregistration requirements of the Securities Act and applicable state laws. Thereis no intention to register any portion of the offering in the United States orto conduct a public offering of securities in the United States. No money,securities, or other consideration from any person inside the United States isbeing solicited and, if sent in response to the information contained in thisannouncement, will not be accepted. The securities of the Company described herein have not been, and will not beregistered under the securities legislation of any province of Canada, theCommonwealth of Australia or Japan. Accordingly, unless an exemption underrelevant securities laws is applicable, such securities may not be offered, soldor delivered, directly or indirectly to, or for the account or benefit of any USperson, subject to certain exceptions, or in or into, the United States, Canada,Australia or Japan. Information contained in this announcement may include "forward-lookingstatements". All statements other than statements of historical facts includedin this announcement including, without limitation, those regarding theCompany's financial position, business strategy, plans and objectives ofmanagement for future operations (including development plans and objectivesrelating to the Company's products) are forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertaintiesand other important facts that could cause the actual results, performance orachievements of the Company to be materially different from future results,performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-lookingstatements. Such forward-looking statements are based on numerous assumptionsregarding the Company's present and future business strategies and theenvironment in which the Company will operate in the future. These forwardlooking statements speak only as at the date of this announcement. Save asrequired by law or the AIM Rules for Companies, the Company expressly disclaimsany obligations or undertaking to disseminate any updates or revisions to anyforward-looking statements contained in this announcement to reflect any changesin the Company's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events,conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based. Informationcontained in this announcement cannot be relied upon as a guide to futureperformance. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
HCL.L