MPCC raises $50 million for more ships

The fast-growing containership owner and operator has completed a private placement of 7.25 million new shares at a fixed subscription price of 54 Norwegian krone (U.S. $6.75) per share.    Oslo-based MPC Container Ships has raised roughly $50 million for additional vessel acquisitions, the company said in a statement.
   The fast-growing containership owner and operator on Tuesday announced the completion a private placement of 7.25 million new shares at a fixed subscription price of 54 Norwegian krone (U.S. $6.75) per share.
   Under the terms of the placement agreement, CSI Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH will receive 659,500 new shares, bringing its total holding to just under 11 million shares or roughly 13 percent of the company’s total stock; a fund managed by STAR Capital Partnership LLP will receive 964,000 shares, bringing its ownership stake to 15.6 million shares (18.56 percent); and Pilgrim Global ICAV will receive 208,500 shares for a total of nearly 3 million shares (3.55 percent). MPCC did not disclose the purchaser (or purchasers) of the remaining 5.418 million shares.
   Delivery of all shares is scheduled to take place by June 28, subject to payment and other customary conditions, at which point MPCC will have a total share capital of NOK 842.53 million spread across 84.253 million shares with a nominal per share value of NOK 10.
   The company said it would use the proceeds from the private share placement to “pursue future investments in container vessels and general corporate purposes.”
   Already the largest owner of feeder-size container vessels — those with capacity of up to 3,000 TEUs — in the world, MPCC in May purchased three more ships for a total of $33.8 million, bringing the firm’s total fleet to 68 ships in just under 18 months of operation.