NYK Line to sell shares worth $1.6 billion

NYK Line to sell shares worth $1.6 billion    NYK Line said Thursday it would offer shares worth $1.6 billion in order to raise capital for the purchase of new vessels.
   The offer of 427 million shares will be priced in December.
   Like most other carriers, NYK has been hit hard by the global economic downturn, and it had an operating loss of $410 million in the first half of its fiscal year. The line, which includes container, bulk and car carrier divisions, said in late October it expects an operating loss of nearly $200 million company-wide during the current fiscal year.
   NYK's move is not without precedent this year. In summer, NOL, parent of APL, held a rights issue — essentially an initial public offering for existing shareholders — that raised more than $1 billion. And in September, Maersk sold $1.8 billion of shares in its treasury.
   Other lines have chased funding via government guarantees of loan or shareholder cash injections.