HARBOR STAR SCHEDULES P593M STOCK OFFERING

TUGBOAT operator Harbor Star Shipping Services Inc. is set to launch its P593-million initial public offering this month to pave the way for its listing on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) likely on Aug. 2, the company said in an offering circular.

The PSE said Harbor Star is offering up to 181.6 million shares at a maximum price of P3.27 per share. The offer period will run from July 22 to 26, ahead of the targeted listing on the PSE’s main board in early August. The offer price will be fixed on July 10.

The transaction will put 30% of Harbor Star’s shares in public hands and will raise its post-IPO market capitalization to an estimated at P1.98 billion.

Harbor Star has appointed Abacus Capital & Investment Corp. as issue manager and lead underwriter for the transaction.

Proceeds from the IPO are expected to be used to acquire tugboats for domestic and international expansion and refleeting (P227.4 million), pay for acquisition of barges or tug and barge pairs for lighterage operations (P120 million), settle the bridge loan used in buying vessels (P120 million), and to retire debt (P73.4 million).

The company targets to accomplish all these by the third quarter of this year. Harbor Star began its operations in 1998 with a fleet of 27 tugboats deployed in various major ports throughout the country.

The vessels are used for ship salvaging, wreck removal, fire-fighting, oil spill abatement and recovery, handling of hazardous chemical, deep-sea towing and diving and underwater searches.

The tugboats are operated in the ports of Bataan, Batangas, Quezon, Cebu, Dipolog, Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro, Bohol, Leyte and Davao. They are also used to transport products such as oil, petroleum and mineral products from large deep-water vessels to smaller vessels.

Source: http://www.portcalls.com/harbor-star-schedules-p593m-stock-offering/#