* Completes $475 mln ATM equity offering
* Third such offering since November
* To examine all options to strengthen balance sheet
* Shares up 5 percent in after-hours trading
(Recasts; adds background, updates share movement)
May 21 (Reuters) -DryShips Inc said it has completed its $475 million at-the-market (ATM) offering, its third since November, and was continuing to examine all options for strengthening its balance sheet.
Shares of the Greek dry bulk carrier rose as much as 5 percent to touch $7.40 in trading after the bell. They had closed at $7.04 Thursday on Nasdaq. Athens, Greece-based DryShips, which had earlier raised $500 million in a similar offering completed in April, revealed this offering in a regulatory filing on May 7.
The company said it now has about 257.6 million shares outstanding. Its market capitalization now stands at about $1.81 billion, based on the stock's Thursday closing price of $7.04. Merrill Lynch acted as sales agent in the offering.
'So far in 2009 we have raised almost $1 billion of equity, cancelled $2 billion of capex, repaid over $600 million of debt and obtained bank waivers for a substantial portion of our outstanding debt,' Chief Executive George Economou said.
An abrupt end to the recent boom for bulk shippers has left many laden with debt for ships they bought at the top of the market. Earlier, DryShips had cancelled a slew of newbuilding contracts to reduce capital spending in order to save cash.
DryShips, which has been battling a debt overload, received a going concern notice from its auditors in March, as it reclassified $1.8 billion of long-term debt as current. The company has already received covenant waivers for about $1 billion of its debt.
On Tuesday, it said it had reached an agreement with DnB NOR Bank on waiver terms for $86 million of its outstanding debt. In February, it reached a final agreement with Nordea Bank Finland Plc to obtain a covenant waiver for its debt totalling $800 million.
For the alerts, double-click
(Reporting by Shradhha Sharma in Bangalore; Editing by Aradhana Aravindan, Sweta Singh) Keywords: DRYSHIPS/ (shradhha.sharma@thomsonreuters.com; within U.S. +646 223 8780; outside U.S. +91 80 4135 5800; Reuters Messaging:shradhha.sharma.reuters) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
* Third such offering since November
* To examine all options to strengthen balance sheet
* Shares up 5 percent in after-hours trading
(Recasts; adds background, updates share movement)
May 21 (Reuters) -DryShips Inc said it has completed its $475 million at-the-market (ATM) offering, its third since November, and was continuing to examine all options for strengthening its balance sheet.
Shares of the Greek dry bulk carrier rose as much as 5 percent to touch $7.40 in trading after the bell. They had closed at $7.04 Thursday on Nasdaq. Athens, Greece-based DryShips, which had earlier raised $500 million in a similar offering completed in April, revealed this offering in a regulatory filing on May 7.
The company said it now has about 257.6 million shares outstanding. Its market capitalization now stands at about $1.81 billion, based on the stock's Thursday closing price of $7.04. Merrill Lynch acted as sales agent in the offering.
'So far in 2009 we have raised almost $1 billion of equity, cancelled $2 billion of capex, repaid over $600 million of debt and obtained bank waivers for a substantial portion of our outstanding debt,' Chief Executive George Economou said.
An abrupt end to the recent boom for bulk shippers has left many laden with debt for ships they bought at the top of the market. Earlier, DryShips had cancelled a slew of newbuilding contracts to reduce capital spending in order to save cash.
DryShips, which has been battling a debt overload, received a going concern notice from its auditors in March, as it reclassified $1.8 billion of long-term debt as current. The company has already received covenant waivers for about $1 billion of its debt.
On Tuesday, it said it had reached an agreement with DnB NOR Bank on waiver terms for $86 million of its outstanding debt. In February, it reached a final agreement with Nordea Bank Finland Plc to obtain a covenant waiver for its debt totalling $800 million.
For the alerts, double-click
(Reporting by Shradhha Sharma in Bangalore; Editing by Aradhana Aravindan, Sweta Singh) Keywords: DRYSHIPS/ (shradhha.sharma@thomsonreuters.com; within U.S. +646 223 8780; outside U.S. +91 80 4135 5800; Reuters Messaging:shradhha.sharma.reuters) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.