ATHENS, GREECE, September 12, 2007, Diana Shipping Inc. (NYSE: DSX), a global shipping company specializing in the transportation of dry bulk cargoes, today announced that it is commencing a public offering of 10,000,000 primary shares of its common stock pursuant to an effective shelf registration statement. Wachovia Securities and JPMorgan will act as joint book running managers. The Company expects to grant the underwriters an option to purchase an additional 1,500,000 common shares to cover any over-allotments, exercisable within 30 days, and expects to price the offering in due course.
This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale, of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of such jurisdiction.
The offering will be made only by means of a prospectus and related prospectus supplement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. When available, copies of the prospectus and prospectus supplement relating to the offering may be obtained from Wachovia Securities at 375 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10152, telephone: 800-326-5897 or from JPMorgan at National Statement Processing, Prospectus Library, 4 Chase Metrotech Center, CS Level, Brooklyn, NY 11245, telephone: 718-242-8002.
About the Company
Diana Shipping Inc. (NYSE: DSX) is a global provider of shipping transportation services. The Company specializes in transporting dry bulk cargoes, including such commodities as iron ore, coal, grain and other materials along worldwide shipping routes.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statement
Matters discussed in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides safe harbor protections for forward-looking statements in order to encourage companies to provide prospective information about their business. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements, which are other than statements of historical facts.
The Company desires to take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and is including this cautionary statement in connection with this safe harbor legislation. The words “believe,” “anticipate,” “intends,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “project,” “plan,” “potential,” “will,” “may,” “should,” “expect” “pending and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements.
The forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions, including without limitation, our management’s examination of historical operating trends, data contained in our records and other data available from third parties. Although we believe that these assumptions were reasonable when made, because these assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond our control, we cannot assure you that we will achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs or projections.
In addition to these important factors, other important factors that, in our view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include the strength of world economies and currencies, general market conditions, including fluctuations in charter rates and vessel values, changes in demand for dry bulk shipping capacity, changes in our operating expenses, including bunker prices, drydocking and insurance costs, the market for our vessels, availability of financing and refinancing, changes in governmental rules and regulations or actions taken by regulatory authorities, potential liability from pending or future litigation, general domestic and international political conditions, potential disruption of shipping routes due to accidents or political events, vessels breakdowns and instances of off-hires and other factors. Please see our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a more complete discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties.
