NYSE-listed Scorpio Bulkers has sold five of its Korean-built capesize bulk carriers for a total of $167m and has announced plans to performed a reverse split of its shares.
Scorpio did not name the buyer of the three live capes and two newbuildings, which are still under construction and are due for delivery in the first quarter of 2016. After the vessels’ sale, Scorpio Bulkers will have no more capesizes left in its fleet.
Weak dry bulk shipping markets have flattened investor sentiment and Scorpio Bulkers’ share price. On December 17, the company received a notice of non-compliance from the NYSE after its stock traded at below the required $1.00 per share for 30 consecutive trading days up to December 15.
Scorpio is now planning to undertake a one-for-twelve reverse split of its shares, effective on Thursday, which will reduce its total number of outstanding common shares from approximately 344.2m shares to around 28.7m shares.