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SINGAPORE, Oct 30 (Reuters) - The Singapore unit of India's
Mercator Lines <MRCT.BO> on Tuesday filed its prospectus for an
initial public offering, which banking sources say may raise $150 million.
Mercator Lines (Singapore) Pte Ltd said it plans to raise
funds to expand its business by acquiring vessels, investing in
maritime companies and partially redeeming its bonds, according
to its prospectus, which did not say how much it aimed to raise.
Mercator Lines (Singapore) earlier this year sold $51 million
in convertible bonds in Singapore to raise funds for expansion.
Mercator also has an offshore business in Singapore.
Mercator operates seven owned and four chartered vessels and
primarily services thermal-based power plants and steel companies
such as Global Chartering, a unit of Arcelor Mittal Group, and
Tata Power Co.
The parent group plans to take advantage of opportunities in
the transportation of coal into India from Australia and
Indonesia, as well as iron ore from India to countries such as
China, Japan and South Korea.
The firm has mandated Merrill Lynch <MER.N> and Deutsche Bank
<DBKGn.DE> as lead managers for the IPO, the prospectus said.
Singapore is seen to be an increasingly popular venue to
raise capital for Asian oil services firms and hosts many such
companies on its stock exchange.
((Reporting by Saeed Azhar, editing by Neil Chatterjee;
[email protected]; Reuters Messaging:
[email protected]; +65 6403-5664))
Keywords: MERCATOR IPO/