Hunter Maritime Acquisition began an initial public offering of its units as the Marc Saverys-backed firm seeks out distressed opportunities in the shipping industry.
Hunter Maritime is selling 15 million units at $10 per unit on the small-cap-focused Nasdaq Capital Market exchange. Each unit will entitle the holder to one common share and a one-half warrant in Hunter Maritime.
Each whole warrant will be redeemable for one whole common share in Hunter Maritime, which will begin trading at a later day.
Marc Saverys' Bocimar, which is the dry cargo wing of the now private Compagnie Maritime Belge, is the sole sponsor of Hunter, owning 4.3 million shares in the company. That stake will be reduced to 20% following the offering.
As outlined in the prospectus for Hunter, it aims to capitalise on the current weakness in shipping industry asset values, either through direct acquisitions or chartering-in ships. The firm now has 24 months from the closing of this offering to make an acquisition in the sector, or return its capital to shareholders.
"Our business strategy is to identify and complete our initial business combination to form an owner and operator of shipping vessels, which would form a platform on which to expand and build a formidable player within the sector of the shipping industry in which those vessels are concentrated," Hunter said in its prospectus.
