Excel Maritime Carriers Announces Closing of $150M Convertible Senior Notes

Excel Maritime Carriers Ltd. (NYSE: EXM) announced the closing of its offering of $150m aggregate principal amount of Convertible Senior Notes due 2027 to qualified institutional buyers in accordance with Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933. Excel Maritime recently announced the pricing of $125m aggregate principal amount of the notes subsequent to which, in connection with the closing, the initial purchaser exercised in full its option to acquire an additional $25m of the notes to cover over-allotments. If certain conditions are met, the notes will be convertible into cash, shares of Excel Maritime's Class A common stock or a combination of cash and Class A common stock, at Excel Maritime's option. The notes will pay interest semiannually at a rate of 1.875% per annum. The notes will be convertible at a base conversion rate of approximately 10.9529 shares of Class A common stock per $1,000 principal amount of notes. The initial conversion price is set at $91.30 per share. There is also an incremental share factor of 5.4765 shares of Class A common stock per $1,000 principal amount of notes. The net proceeds to Excel Maritime from the offering were approximately $145.3m, after deducting the initial purchaser's discount and estimated offering expenses of approximately $4.7m. Excel Maritime plans to use the net proceeds from the note offering for general corporate purposes, which may include potential vessel acquisitions and repayment of debt.