Navios Maritime Holdings Inc. (NM)

[EZ2]

Navios Maritime Partners Sets IPO Terms
Thursday November 1, 10:08 am ET
Navios Maritime Partners Expects IPO to Price Between $19 and $21 Per Unit


NEW YORK (AP) -- Navios Maritime Partners LP, an owner and operator of drybulk carriers formed by shipping company Navios Maritime Holdings Inc., disclosed the expected terms of its initial public offering in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Thursday.

Navios, a Marshall Islands limited partnership based in Greece, plans to offer 10 million common units representing limited-partner interests. The company expects the IPO to price between $19 and $21 per common unit.

Navios expects its initial fleet to consist of seven Panamax vessels and two Capesize vessels. The company also will have an option to acquire one newly built Capesize vessel from Navios Maritime Holdings in 2009.

Panamax vessels are capable of carrying a range of commodities, including iron ore, coal, grain and fertilizer. Capesize vessels primarily carry iron ore and coal.

For the six months ended June 30, Navios' earnings, on an adjusted basis, totaled $10.3 million. The company's time charter and voyage revenue totaled $33.3 million.

Navios plans to use its proceeds from the IPO to pay part of the purchase price of the Navios Maritime Holdings subsidiaries that own or have rights to vessels in the company's initial fleet.

Assuming an offering price of $20, Navios expects to pay about $513.4 million to the subsidiaries.

At the time of the IPO, Navios also is offering 500,000 common units directly to a corporation owned by Chairman and Chief Executive Angeliki Frangou.

Navios Maritime Holdings will own a 43 percent stake in the company after its IPO.

Merrill Lynch and JP Morgan Securities are serving as the IPO's lead underwriters. Cantor Fitzgerald, S. Goldman Advisors and DVB Capital Markets are also underwriting the offering.

The underwriters have been given an option to buy up to 1.5 million additional common units to cover any overallotments.

Navios plans to list its common units on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "NMM."