New York-listedDiana on Monday announced plans to sell Series B Cumulative RedeemablePerpetual Preferred Shares in a public offering underwritten by Morgan Stanley,Deutsche Bank and UBS Securities.

“The company plans to use the net proceeds of the offeringfor general corporate purposes, which may include the repayment of debt and theacquisition of vessels,” it told investors in a statement.

Ifall goes according to plan the Athens-based owner of 36 bulkers and fournewbuildings intends to list the perpetual preferred shares on the New YorkStock Exchange under the ticker “DSXPRB”.

Ina prospectus filed with securities regulators Diana noted it is on the lookoutfor vessels with carrying capacities of 70,000-dwt or more but noted it wouldconsider “other classes” too if it determines they “present favorableinvestment opportunities”.

WhenMichael Webber of Wells Fargo Securities upgraded shares of the owner from “underperform”to “outperform” earlier this month the equity analyst told clients that he expects tosee the company add up to a dozen bulkers to its stable by year-end.