HONG KONG, CHINA – April 18, 2007 /CNW/ – Seaspan Corporation (the "Company") (NYSE:SSW) announced today that it plans to offer approximately 3.5 million common shares in a registered offering, subject to market conditions. The Company expects to grant the underwriters an option to purchase up to 525,000 additional common shares to cover over-allotments, if any. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from this offering to fund a portion of the purchase price of the undelivered vessels that the Company has contracted to purchase and for working capital and other general corporate purposes.
Citi and Merrill Lynch & Co. will act as joint book-running managers of the offering. Dahlman Rose & Company will act as a co-manager.
This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy the securities described herein, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. This offering may be made only by means of a prospectus supplement and accompanying base prospectus.
When available, copies of the prospectus supplement and accompanying base prospectus related to this offering may be obtained from Citi, Brooklyn Army Terminal, 140 58th Street, 8th Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11220 or Merrill Lynch & Co., 4 World Financial Center, New York, NY 10080.
About Seaspan
Seaspan owns containerships and charters them pursuant to long-term fixed-rate charters. Seaspan's fleet of 47 containerships consists of 26 existing containerships and 21 to be delivered over approximately the next three years. The 21 vessels that Seaspan has contracted to purchase are already committed to long-term time charters averaging approximately 10.6 years in duration from delivery. Seaspan's operating fleet of 26 vessels has an average age of approximately five years with an average remaining charter period of approximately eight years. Seaspan's customer base consists of seven of the largest liner companies, including China Shipping Container Lines, A.P. Moller-Maersk, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Hapag-Lloyd, COSCO Container Lines, K-Line and CSAV.
Seaspan's common shares are listed on The New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "SSW".
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This release contains certain forward-looking statements (as such term is defined in Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) concerning future events and our operations, performance and financial condition, including, in particular, the likelihood of our success in developing and expanding our business. Statements that are predictive in nature, that depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, or that include words such as "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "plans", "believes", "estimates", "projects", "forecasts", "will", "may", "potential", "should", and similar expressions are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements reflect management's current views only as of the date of this presentation and are not intended to give any assurance as to future results. As a result, you are cautioned not to rely on any forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements appear in a number of places in this release. Although these statements are based upon assumptions we believe to be reasonable based upon available information, including operating margins, earnings, cash flow, working capital and capital expenditures, they are subject to risks and uncertainties.
These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: future operating or financial results; our expectations relating to dividend payments and forecasts of our ability to make such payments; pending acquisitions, business strategy and expected capital spending; operating expenses, availability of crew, number of off-hire days, drydocking requirements and insurance costs; general market conditions and shipping market trends, including charter rates and factors affecting supply and demand; our financial condition and liquidity, including our ability to obtain additional financing in the future to fund capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate activities; estimated future capital expenditures needed to preserve our capital base; our expectations about the availability of ships to purchase, the time that it may take to construct new ships, or the useful lives of our ships; our continued ability to enter into long-term, fixed-rate time charters with our customers; our ability to leverage to our advantage our Manager's relationships and reputation in the containership industry; changes in governmental rules and regulations or actions taken by regulatory authorities; changes in worldwide container demand; changes in trading patterns; competitive factors in the markets in which we operate; potential inability to implement our growth strategy; potential for early termination of long-term contracts and our potential inability to renew or replace long-term contracts; ability of our customers to make charter payments; potential liability from future litigation; conditions in the public equity markets; and other factors detailed from time to time in our periodic reports. We expressly disclaim any obligation to update or revise any of these forward-looking statements, whether because of future events, new information, a change in our views or expectations, or otherwise. We make no prediction or statement about the performance of our common and subordinated shares.
