Cetus Maritime raises $200m ahead of Oslo listing

Hong Kong dry bulk owner Cetus Maritime has placed NOK1.89bn ($200m) in shares, including a fully exercised over-allotment, clearing the biggest hurdle before its first day of trading on Euronext Growth Oslo on November 18.

The Mark Young-led company conditionally allocated 108.5m shares at NOK17.44 ($1.83) each. Investors took up the full $25m over-allotment on top of the original $175m fundraising target, according to the company.

How is the $200m structured?

The placement splits into two blocks. Cetus issued 95m new shares, raising roughly $174m for the company. A further 13.5m existing shares, borrowed from major shareholder Pacific Transportation Asia (PTA), covered the over-allotment — meaning that portion of the money goes to selling shareholders, not the company's balance sheet.

A 30-day greenshoe option remains live and could pull in additional capital through further new share issuance.

Who is backing the deal?

Some of shipping's heavyweight investment names piled in. An affiliate of Idan Ofer's Eastern Pacific Shipping, Arne Blystad's Songa Capital and the Albemarle Shipping Fund, co-founded by Magnus Halvorsen, all subscribed. Together with DNB Asset Management, the four had indicated interest worth a combined $106.5m. Cetus has not disclosed their final individual allocations.

Where does the money go?

The bulk of the proceeds funds Cetus's acquisition of 13 handysize and ultramax bulkers from Hong Kong-listed Seacon Shipping Group, along with Syngrace, which holds contracts for three additional handysize newbuildings.

The fleet deal carries a dual structure: roughly $72.5m in cash plus the issuance of 37.3m Cetus shares to Seacon. Beyond the acquisition, the fresh capital supports newbuilding payments, fleet deleveraging and working capital.

What fleet does Cetus end up running?

Once the Seacon transaction closes and a planned vessel sale completes, Cetus expects to operate 42 ships: 34 vessels on the water and eight newbuildings scheduled for delivery across 2027 and 2028.

The listing timeline remains conditional. Cetus needs regulatory approvals and completion of the Seacon transaction before trading starts on November 18.

Who holds the company after listing?

Assuming full exercise of the greenshoe option post-listing, PTA retains approximately 40.6% of Cetus. Seacon comes in at around 14.3% through its share consideration — giving the Hong Kong seller a lasting equity stake in its fleet's new owner.

Cetus has also signalled ambition beyond the growth market. The company has left the door open to a move to the main Oslo Børs list within 12 months of its debut, which would broaden its access to institutional capital.

For dry bulk watchers, the deal marks another test of equity appetite for mid-size bulk carriers in Oslo, and the heavy anchor demand from Eastern Pacific-linked, Blystad and DNB-linked investors suggests that appetite held firm at the $200m mark.