SHIPBUILDER STX Europe yesterday ended weeks of anticipation when its offshore support vessels unit, STX OSV, lodged its preliminary prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
Although the prospectus was light on the initial public offering details, talk has it that STX OSV's proposed mainboard listing will raise net proceeds of US$400 million.
The shipbuilding company intends to use some of the proceeds to construct a second shipyard in Brazil, extend its Norwegian yard capacities, and improve manufacturing capacity and equipment at two Vietnamese and Romanian yards.
STX OSV's shares will only be priced two weeks later, after the company's management team concludes its road shows in Singapore, Hong Kong, the US, Europe and Scandinavia.
Goldman Sachs is STX OSV's sole global coordinator, bookrunner and issue manager.
STX OSV is headed by Roy Reite and recorded first half profits of US$91 million this year. The company owns nine shipbuilding facilities throughout the world and specialises in highly customised OSVs like platform supply vessels and anchor handling tug supply vessels (AHTS).
In May 2008, South Korean shipbuilding group STX bought over STX Europe's former entity, Aker Yards, and delisted it from the Oslo Stock Exchange.
Since earlier this year, the group has mulled over whether it ought to float one or more of its units, and whether to list on a European stock exchange or in Singapore.
Late in September, STX Europe received an 'Eligibility to List' letter from the Singapore Exchange.
STX OSV's listing here will be the group's second after STX Pan Ocean, South Korea's largest bulk-shipping line, which is also listed in South Korea.
In time to come, STX OSV may be the first of many Norway-based firms to list or dual list here. The Oslo-listed marine oil storage and production vessel operator BW Offshore said it planned to dual list its shares in Singapore, hopefully by the first half of 2011.
Its Singapore-based CEO Andreas Sohmen-Pao told Reuters that the listing 'has been prepared' and that 'since we have a new structure between Oslo and Singapore so we can do it easily without going through the full relisting procedure'.
BW Offshore has chosen DnB Nor as its primary banker.
From Business Times, "STX OSV IPO seen raising US$400m".
