Wilbur Ross-backed Diamond S Shipping files for IPO of up to $100 mln

Diamond S Shipping Group Inc, which is backed by billionaire-investor Wilbur Ross, filed with U.S. regulators to raise up to $100 million in an initial public offering of its common stock. The Greenwich, Connecticut-based company owns and operates medium-ranged tankers to transport refined petroleum and other products. Jefferies and BofA Merrill Lynch would underwrite the offering, Diamond S Shipping said in a filing on Tuesday with the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission. () The company, which counts GlencoreXstrata, Maersk and Hyundai Merchant Marine among its customers, intends to list its common stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “DSG”. Ross, whose company WL Ross & Co manages around $10 billion in assets, made a name for himself as a bankruptcy specialist, snapping up out-of-favour assets ranging from banks and textiles to steel and coal firms. WL Ross & Co, which currently holds about 32 percent stake in Diamond S Shipping, has been betting on the shipping sector, which is in an extended downturn since the global economic crisis of 2008. Shares of Ross-controlled liquefied gas carrier Navigator Holdings Ltd rose as much as 11 percent in their market debut in November. Diamond S Shipping reported revenue of $134.4 million and net income of $2.3 million for the nine months ended Dec. 31. The company plans to use the proceeds to purchase product tankers, acquisitions and general corporate purposes. The filing did not reveal how many shares the company planned to sell or their expected price. The amount of money a company says it plans to raise in its first IPO filings is used to calculate registration fees. The final size of the IPO could be different.