Navios Maritime Falls as Offering Priced

PIRAEUS, Greece (TheStreet) -- Shares of Navios Maritime Partners(NMM Quote) fell as much as 8% Friday as the Greek dry-bulk shipper priced an offering of 2.8 million common shares at $12.21 apiece.

The company, which sought to raise $35.1 million through the offering, said it will use the money for fleet expansion, as well as the obligatory "general corporate purposes."

Navios stock was trading midday Friday at $12.09, down 97 cents, or 7.4%, on volume of 1.7 million shares. Average daily turnover had been 120,000 shares.

It's stacking up to be an opportune moment for fleet expansion, many marine-trade observers say. During the boom years, shippers went on a buying spree, ordering hundreds of new vessels from shipyards. But after the global economy crashed, many over-leveraged shippers found that they could no longer afford those previously contracted orders.

Well-capitalized companies, the argument goes, are now in a position to come in and snap up those so called "newbuildings" on the cheap.

Navios's balance sheet is regarded as healthy, with about $195 million in total debt, down from $235 million at the end of 2008. The company also has maintained a conservative chartering strategy, with 100% of its fleet locked into long-term contracts for the remaining 2009 and 2010 days available.