Harry Vafias’ tanker and bulker company C3is is going for a huge reverse stock split to maintain its listing on the Nasdaq exchange.
A 99% reduction of its share count will take place later on Thursday, turning every 100 shares into one share.
This is a high ratio. Cyprus-based Castor Maritime carried out a one-for-10 split on the bourse last month, while Greece’s Top Ships went for one-for-12 last year.
C3is will have 1.953m shares outstanding after the deal, down from 195.3m.
“The reverse stock split ratio approved by the board of directors is within the previously disclosed range of ratios … authorised by the stockholders of the company, within three years of the spin-out of the company,” C3is said.
The shipowner is seeking to regain compliance with a minimum $1 per share listing requirement, following a notice served by the Nasdaq last August.
In addition, last month the company was told the exchange had decided to delist it because the price had gone below $0.10 for 10 straight days.
C3is is appealing against that ruling and a hearing has been scheduled for 14 May.
“The company believes that the reverse stock split will increase the market price for its common stock and cure these deficiencies,” the owner added.
The share closed down nearly 22% in New York on Wednesday at $0.03 following the news.
The stock split would increase this to $3.
Volatile stock
Chairman Vafias has pointed to the share’s big liquidity.
He told TradeWinds that on 26 March, C3is was the most traded stock in the US, beating Tesla, Citi, Facebook, ExxonMobil and Amazon.
Data showed 590m C3is shares changed hands.
The company was spun off from Vafias’ Imperial Petroleum and began trading in June 2023 at $10 but dropped below $1 within weeks.
The owner, which controls two handysize bulkers and an aframax tanker, logged net profit of $5.6m in the fourth quarter, up from $500,000 in the same period of 2022.
Revenue jumped from $3.1m to $13.8m year on year as the fleet expanded.
