NOL To Split, List American Eagle Tankers

Neptune Orient Lines, the world's sixth largest container shipper, plans to spin off and list its oil-transportation unit, American Eagles Tankers (AET), on the New York Stock Exchange. The Singapore-based company said it plans to offer common shares to be listed on the NYSE and Singapore Depositary Receipts (SDRs) on the Singapore Exchange to investors internationally as well as in the city-state. The offering is expected to be made in the second or third quarter and AET would use net proceeds of the offer to buy additional tankers for an expansion program. NOL said the listing would unlock value for shareholders and support the growth of the group's three core businesses - logistics, container transportation and oil transportation in tankers. The company plans to make a preferential offering, which is conditional on completion of the international offering, of SDRs to NOL shareholders outside of the United States on June 7, 2001. - (Reuters)