SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D. C. 20549
Report of Foreign Private Issuer
Pursuant to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16 of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
For the month of March 2005
EXCEL MARITIME CARRIERS LTD.
(Translation of registrant's name into English)
67 Akti Miaouli Street
18537 Piraeus
Greece
(Address of principal executive offices)
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual
reports under cover Form 20-F or Form 40-F.
Form 20-F [X] Form 40-F [_]
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the
information contained in this Form is also thereby furnishing the information to
the commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of
1934.
Yes [_] No [X]
INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS FORM 6-K REPORT
Attached hereto as Exhibit 1 is a press release dated March 16, 2005
announcing the sale of 5,899,000 shares of its Class A common shares by Excel
Maritime Carriers Ltd. (the "Company").
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
None.
NEWS RELEASE for March 16, 2005 at 7:35 AM EST
Contact: Michael Mason (investors) Christopher Georgakis, CEO
Allen & Caron Inc Excel Maritime Carriers Ltd.
212-691-8087 +30 210 45 98 692
michaelm@allencaron.com c.georgakis@excelmaritime.com
Len Hall (media)
Allen & Caron Inc
949-474-4300
len@allencaron.com
EXCEL MARITIME ANNOUNCES SALE OF SHARES
PIRAEUS, GREECE (March 16, 2005) ... Excel Maritime Carriers Ltd (AMEX:EXM), a
shipping company specializing in the seaborne transportation of dry bulk
cargoes, announced today that it has sold 5,899,000 Class A common shares,
registered under its universal shelf registration statement, to institutional
investors at $21.00 per share. The proceeds to the Company before expenses were
approximately $123.8 million, which the Company expects will be used primarily
to acquire additional dry bulk vessels for the Company's fleet, and to a lesser
extent, for general corporate purposes.
Shares of the Company's stock closed at $21.40 on March 15, 2005.
A copy of the prospectus and prospectus supplement may be obtained from the
sales agent:
Cantor Fitzgerald & Co.
135 East 57th St.
New York, NY 10022
212-829-4803
About Excel Maritime
--------------------
Excel Maritime Carriers Ltd is an owner and operator of dry bulk carriers
and a provider of worldwide seaborne transportation services for dry bulk cargo.
The Company was incorporated in 1988 under the laws of Liberia.
Forward Looking Statement
-------------------------
This press release contains forward-looking statements (as defined in
Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) concerning future events and the
Company's operations, performance and financial conditions, including, in
particular, statements regarding: TCE rates in the near term; time charter and
spot or voyage charter revenues; net operating days; dry bulk carrier supply and
demand; supply and demand for commodities; expectations as to funding the
Company's future capital requirements; future capital expenditures; the
Company's growth strategy and measures to implement such strategy; changes in
environmental, safety and other regulations affecting the shipping industry;
cost savings and other benefits. Words such as "expects," "intends," "plans,"
"believes," "anticipates," "hopes," "estimates," and variations of such words
and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements.
Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such
forward-looking statements are reasonable, no assurance can be given that such
expectations will prove to have been correct. These statements involve known and
unknown risks and are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates which are
inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies, many of which
are beyond the control of the Company. Actual results may differ materially from
those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that
could cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to:
changes in production of or demand for commodities, either generally or in
particular regions; the cyclical nature of the shipping industry and its
dependence on commodities and bulk markets; the supply of vessels available to
meet the demand for transportation of commodities; greater than anticipated
levels of dry bulk carrier newbuilding orders or less than anticipated rates of
dry bulk carrier scrapping; changes in trading patterns significantly impacting
overall dry bulk carrier tonnage requirements; competitive factors in the market
in which the Company operates; risks associated with operations outside the
United States; and other factors listed from time to time in the Company's
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company expressly
disclaims any obligations or undertaking to release publicly any updates or
revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any
change in the Company's expectations with respect thereto or any change in
events, conditions or circumstances on which any statement is based.
# # # #
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
EXCEL MARITIME CARRIERS LTD.
(registrant)
Dated: March 16, 2005 By: /s/ Christopher J. Georgakis
----------------------------
Christopher J. Georgakis
President and
Chief Executive Officer
02545.0001 #556070