Ardmore Shipping is heading into the debt market to fund a potential fleet expansion.
The New York-listed tanker owner announced Monday plans to offer senior unsecured notes due 2023 to fund "general corporate purposes," which it say may include future vessel purchases.
The value of the offering was not disclosed. The company intends to list the notes on the New York Stock Exchange.
Morgan Stanley and Stifel are the joint book-running managers on the offering. B. Riley FBR, BB&T Capital Markets, Janney Montgomery Scott and Ladenburg Thalmann will act as co-managers.
In August, chief executive Anthony Gurnee called it an excellent time to buy MR tankers. Later that month, the company logged a $400m shelf filing and announced plans for a $25m at the market offering.
In addition to single-ship purchases, Ardmore has a history of consolidation, buying the Frontline medium range tanker fleet in the summer of 2016.
In September, shipbrokers told TradeWinds the company was looking to part with four of its smaller 2013-built chemical tankers.
The sales could be worth up to $80m total and fueled speculation the company is moving to focus on the MR tanker market.
In the third quarter, Ardmore posted $12.2m losses.
