CP SHIPS TO RAISE $350 MILLION

CP SHIPS TO RAISE $350 MILLION       CP Ships announced on Thursday a plan to raise about $350 million in a combination of approximately $100 million in additional stock, through an offering of common shares, and about $250 million in debt, through an offering of 10-year senior notes.
   The London-based shipping group said that the transactions are part of a restructuring of its balance sheet. CP Ships, an independent public company since last fall, is traded on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges under the symbol TEU.
   CP Ships said that it intends to use the proceeds of the common share offering, plus the proceeds of a $250 million private offering of senior notes, “to acquire the container shipping company Italia di Navigazione, to purchase four ice-strengthened ships currently bareboat chartered and to reduce borrowings under its $175 million revolving credit facility.” The finance will effectively replace “off balance sheet” and revolving credit liabilities, the company said.
   The senior notes may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption.
   The final terms of the share issue and senior notes issue have not been determined.
   The joint lead managers for the common share offering are Morgan Stanley and Salomon Smith Barney. A preliminary short-form prospectus for the common share offering was filed on Thursday with the Canadian securities regulators and a Form F-10 registration statement has been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.