It took a week, but shipping's newest public company finally made it all the way back from a horrid first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
Israeli containership company Zim Integrated Shipping Services briefly broke through the $15 initial public offering price in early trading on Thursday after closing at $14.50 on Wednesday.
The owner has gradually gained ground in each successive trading day after plunging 23% to $11.50 on its 28 January debut as a public company, shedding more than $400m in share value on that day.
However, Zim shares weakened as Thursday's trading day wore on, and that streak came to an end. The stock closed at $14.25, a loss of 1.7% on the day. Its market capitalisation at that price stood just above $1.6bn.
Zim became the first mainstream shipowner to successfully complete an IPO in New York since Peter Georgiopoulos' Gener8 Maritime managed to list in June 2015.
Zim settled for a $15 price although its target range was from $16 to $19, and also sold fewer shares than intended, in order to get the $217.5m deal done.
It originally targeted as much as $332m in proceeds from the intended sales of 17.5m shares.
Beyond the symbolic importance of getting back to the $15 deal price, the level is significant because the Eli Glickman-led owner could have a further payday coming, at least in theory.
Over-allotment option
Underwriters were granted an over-allotment option for an additional $32.6m in gross proceeds, but that hinges on Zim trading above the IPO price within the first 30 days.
It also depends on whether underwriters needed to use some or all of the 15% over-allotment, known as the "green shoe", to stabilise the faltering share price.
Citigroup, Goldman Sachs & Co and Barclays are the global coordinators for the IPO, while Jefferies and Clarksons Platou Securities are acting as joint bookrunners.
In a strong market for boxship rates, Zim's roughly 23% rise from its low 28 January has been better than the containership lessors trading in the US.
Recent investor favourite Danaos, for example, has gained about 15% over the same period. Greek owner Costamare is up less than 3% over the same interval.
This story has been amended to reflect Zim's share price at the close of trading on Thursday in New York.
