Contact Information: Investor Relations / Financial Media: Nicolas Bornozis President Capital Link, Inc. 230 Park Avenue - Suite 1536 New York, NY 10160, USA Tel: (212) 661-7566 Fax: (212) 661-7526 E-Mail: nbornozis@capitallink.com www.capitallink.com Company: Lefteris Papatrifon Chief Financial Officer Excel Maritime Carriers Ltd. c/o 17th Km National Road Athens Lamia & Finikos Street 145 64 Nea Kifisia Athens, Greece Tel: 011-30-210-62-09-520 Fax: 011-30-210-62-09-528 E-Mail: info@excelmaritime.com www.excelmaritime.com
Excel Announces the Completion of Merger With Quintana
| Source: Excel Maritime
ATHENS, GREECE--(Marketwire - April 15, 2008) - Excel Maritime Carriers Ltd. (NYSE : EXM )
announced today that it completed its acquisition of Quintana Maritime
Limited. As a result of the merger, Quintana will operate as a wholly
owned subsidiary of Excel under the name Bird Acquisition Corp. Under the
terms of the merger agreement, each issued and outstanding share of
Quintana common stock was converted into the right to receive (i) $13.00 in
cash and (ii) 0.3979 Excel Class A common shares.
The merger creates a combined company that operates a fleet of 47 vessels
with a total carrying capacity of approximately 3.7 million DWT and an
average age of approximately 8 years. The combined company will be one of
the largest dry bulk shipping companies in the industry and will operate
the largest dry bulk fleet by DWT of any shipping company listed in the
U.S.
Gabriel Panayotides, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Excel, said
"We are pleased to announce the completion of our combination with Quintana
today. Our goal is to create one of the world's premier dry bulk shipping
companies and this transaction is an important step towards achieving that
goal. We believe Quintana offers an extremely attractive and young fleet,
strong relationships with its customers, and skilled and knowledgeable
management. We intend to fully integrate Quintana's fleet, systems and
management capability into our organization, providing our customers with a
large and diverse fleet to serve all their needs efficiently. We welcome
Stamatis Molaris to the role of our Chief Executive Officer and to our
Board of Directors. We also welcome Hans Mende, Corbin Robertson III and
Paul Cornell to our Board of Directors. We believe the new directors will
provide valuable business experience to our Board, including significant
experience relating to the shipping industry. We look forward to working
with them in order to build value for our shareholders."
Mr. Molaris additionally commented: "I am excited to have the opportunity
to lead the combined company and participate in the further consolidation
of our industry. I believe the combined company will provide our customers
with enhanced service and our shareholders with greater productivity and
profitability. I am anticipating that shareholders will realize
considerable synergy benefits due to economies of scale and sophisticated
management practices on operational and technical aspects of the combined
fleet."
ABOUT EXCEL MARITIME CARRIERS LTD.
Excel is an owner and operator of dry bulk carriers and a provider of
worldwide seaborne transportation services for dry bulk cargoes, such as
iron ore, coal and grains, as well as bauxite, fertilizers and steel
products. After the acquisition of Quintana, Excel owns a fleet of 40
vessels and, together with 7 Panamax vessels under bareboat charters,
operates 47 vessels (21 Panamax, 14 Kamsarmax, 2 Supramax, 6 Handymax and 4
Capesize vessels) with a total carrying capacity of approximately
3.7 million DWT. Excel Class A common shares have been listed since
September 15, 2005 on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol
EXM and, prior to that date, were listed on the American Stock Exchange
(AMEX) since 1998. For more information about Excel, please go to Excel's
corporate website www.excelmaritime.com.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning
of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not
limited to, statements regarding the combined company, including future
operations and performance. Words such as "anticipate," "believe," "plan,"
"estimate," "expect," "intend," "will," "should," "may," and other similar
expressions are intended to identify
forward-looking statements. Such statements are based upon the current
beliefs and expectations of Excel's management and involve a number of
significant risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict
and generally beyond the control of Excel. Actual results may differ
materially from the results anticipated in these forward-looking
statements. The following factors, among others, could cause or contribute
to such material differences: the ability to realize the expected synergies
resulting from the merger in the amounts or in the timeframe anticipated
and the ability to integrate Quintana's businesses into those of Excel in a
timely and cost-efficient manner. Additional factors that could cause
Excel's results to differ materially from those described in the
forward-looking statements can be found in Excel's registration statement
on Form
F-4 relating to Excel's acquisition of Quintana, including the documents
incorporated by reference therein, which has been filed with the Securities
and Exchange Commission and is available on the Securities and Exchange
Commission's website.