StealthGas, the US-listed LPG player, is to spin-off its tanker assets into a separate company that it plans to list on the Nasdaq stock exchange.
Imperial Petroleum will be the newly formed subsidiary that will act as the holding company for the four tanker vessels, the shipowner said in a regulatory filing.
The four vessels comprise the 115,000-dwt Stealth Berana (built 2010), the 47,000-dwt Clean Thrasher and Magic Wand (both built 2008), and the 46,000-dwt Falcon Maryam (built 2009).
The Magic Wand and Falcon Maryam are on period charters until March and September 2022, according to a recent results presentation by StealthGas.
The Stealth Berana and Clean Thrasher completed period charters in August and September 2021, and their current employment status is unclear.
The Harry Vafias-led shipowner said on Monday that it had filed a registration statement on form F-1 to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) relating to the proposed spin-off.
StealthGas added that it has applied to have Imperial Petroleum's common shares and 8.75% Series A cumulative redeemable perpetual preferred shares listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market.
In connection with the spin-off transaction, StealthGas said it will distribute all of the common shares and the preferred shares of Imperial Petroleum to the company's shareholders.
The transaction is expected to be completed in or around the beginning of December 2021 and remains subject to the registration statement on Form F-1 being declared effective by the SEC, the shipowner said.
The company said: "The StealthGas board of directors believes that the creation of two businesses in distinct sectors of the shipping industry — LPG carriers and tankers — will provide significant benefits to both companies and their shareholders.
"The transaction is expected to enable both StealthGas and Imperial Petroleum to increase its business focus, alleviate market confusion and attract new investors, and, with this separation of sectors, give shareholders the flexibility to adjust their holdings according to the sectors in which they want to invest."
StealthGas has a fleet of 49 ships comprised of 45 LPG carriers with a total capacity of 437,973 cbm and the four tankers.
Earlier this year, the company complained that its exposure to the product tanker sector had been impacting its bottom line.
The shipowner said its spot market profitability was impacted by two of its product tankers operating in a "languid market wracked by Covid-19 oil demand destruction".
