Contact Information: For further information please contact: Company Contact: Ion Varouxakis Chairman, President FreeSeas Inc. 93 Akti Miaouli Street 185 38 Piraeus, Greece Tel: 011-30-210-45-28-770 Fax: 011-30-210-429-10-10 E-Mail: info@freeseas.gr igv@freeseas.gr www.freeseas.gr 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
FreeSeas Inc. Under New Structure and Leadership
| Source: FreeSeas
PIRAEUS, GREECE -- (MARKET WIRE) -- January 8, 2007 -- FreeSeas Inc. (NASDAQ : FREE ) (NASDAQ : FREEW ) and (NASDAQ : FREEZ ), a provider of seaborne transportation for dry
bulk cargoes, announced today the closing of the previously announced
transaction pursuant to which an entity owned by Mr. Ion Varouxakis
acquired an aggregate of 2,812,500 shares of FreeSeas from affiliates of
two former principals of FreeSeas and Mr. Ion Varouxakis assumed management
control. Simultaneously, Mr. Varouxakis sold and transferred 70,600 shares
to family members and 2,108,782 shares to FS Holdings Limited, an entity
controlled by members of the Restis family. Mr. Varouxakis agreed to sell
305,921 shares to an institutional investor. As a result of these
transactions, Mr. Varouxakis together with his family and FS Holding
Limited will each own approximately 33% of the issued and outstanding
common stock of FreeSeas.
Immediately following the closing, the Board of Directors met, and
appointed Mr. Ion Varouxakis Chairman of the Board, President and interim
Chief Financial Officer and elected two new directors to fill the vacancies
created by the transaction. The two new directors are Mr. Kostas
Koutsoubelis who is the Group Financial Director of the Restis interests
and Mr. Dimitrios Panagiotopoulos who is Head of Shipping and Corporate
Banking of Proton Bank. The Board of Directors now consists of Messrs. Ion
Varouxakis, Kostas Koutsoubelis, Focko Nauta, Matthew McCleery, and
Dimitrios Panagiotopoulos. The size of the Board of Directors was also
reduced from seven members to five members.
Mr. Varouxakis stated: "I believe that today's changes will streamline and
strengthen FreeSeas' management and its ability to formulate and execute an
optimal growth strategy for our company. Furthermore, the addition of
Messrs. Koutsoubelis and Panagiotopoulos to the Board will add significant
depth as they bring a broad range of business and financial experience to
FreeSeas.
"We are pleased to have the Restis family, through an affiliate, as a 33%
shareholder of FreeSeas given their prominent position and leadership in
international shipping. Their interests include ownership and operation of
a substantial number of vessels along several segments of the shipping
industry as well as cargo and chartering interests.
"FreeSeas' management is presently exploring ways to enhance commercially
the operations of our fleet using the resources of Safbulk, an entity
controlled by the Restis family. FreeSeas is currently enjoying the
industry's robust start to the New Year.
"The M/V 'Free Fighter' was delivered to the new charterers last week, upon
completion of her scheduled Special Survey and upgrading, at a gross daily
rate of US $23,500 until the beginning of February; the M/V 'Free Destiny'
is chartered at a gross rate of US $13,000 until the beginning of February,
and the M/V 'Free Envoy' is chartered at a gross rate of US$16,000 until
March/April.
"Our next objective is to acquire additional tonnage to significantly
expand our operation in a company transforming exercise."
About FreeSeas Inc.
FreeSeas Inc. is a Marshall Islands corporation with principal offices in
Piraeus, Greece. FreeSeas is engaged in the transportation of dry bulk
cargoes through the ownership and operation of dry-bulk vessels.
Currently, it has a fleet of three Handy-size vessels. FreeSeas' common
stock and warrants trade on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbols
FREE, FREEW and FREEZ, respectively. Risks and uncertainties are described
in reports filed by FreeSeas Inc. with the US Securities and Exchange
Commission, which can be obtained free of charge on the SEC's website at
www.sec.gov. For more information about FreeSeas Inc. please go to our
corporate website www.freeseas.gr.
Forward-Looking Statements
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 growth strategy and measures to implement such strategy,
including expected vessel acquisitions and entering into further time
charters. 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 be 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 the demand for
dry bulk vessels; 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
obligation 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.