UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 6-K

 

REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER PURSUANT TO RULE 13A-16 OR 15D-16
OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

For the month of October 2017

 

Commission File Number 001-37889

 

 

TOP SHIPS INC.

(Translation of registrant's name into English)

 

1 VAS. SOFIAS & MEG.

ALEXANDROU STREET

151 24, MAROUSSI

ATHENS, GREECE

 

(Address of principal executive offices)

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F.

 

Form 20-F [X] Form 40-F [ ]

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1): [ ].

 

Note: Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1) only permits the submission in paper of a Form 6-K if submitted solely to provide an attached annual report to security holders.

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7): [ ].

 

Note: Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7) only permits the submission in paper of a Form 6-K if submitted to furnish a report or other document that the registrant foreign private issuer must furnish and make public under the laws of the jurisdiction in which the registrant is incorporated, domiciled or legally organized (the registrant's "home country"), or under the rules of the home country exchange on which the registrant's securities are traded, as long as the report or other document is not a press release, is not required to be and has not been distributed to the registrant's security holders, and, if discussing a material event, has already been the subject of a Form 6-K submission or other Commission filing on EDGAR.

 

 

 

 

INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS FORM 6-K REPORT

 

 

TOP Ships Inc. (the "Company"), today announced that its Board of Directors (the "Board") has determined to effect a 1-for-2 reverse stock split of the Company's common stock. The Company's shareholders approved the reverse stock split and granted the Board the authority to determine the exact split ratio and proceed with the reverse stock split at the Company's Annual General Meeting of Shareholders held on June 9, 2017.

 

The reverse stock split will take effect, and the Company's common stock will begin trading on a split-adjusted basis on the NASDAQ Capital Market, as of the opening of trading on Friday, October 6, 2017 under the existing trading symbol "TOPS". The new CUSIP number for the Company's common stock will be Y8897Y 701.

 

When the reverse stock split becomes effective, every 2 shares of the Company's issued and outstanding common stock will be automatically combined into one issued and outstanding share of common stock without any change in the par value per share or the total number of authorized shares. This will reduce the number of outstanding shares of the Company's common stock from approximately 15.6 million shares to approximately 7.8 million shares.

 

No fractional shares will be issued in connection with the reverse split of the issued and outstanding common stock. Fractional shares that occur as a result of the reverse stock split will be rounded down to the nearest whole share of the Company's common stock. Shareholders will receive instructions from the Company's exchange agent, Computershare Trust Company N.A., as to how to exchange existing share certificates for new certificates representing the post-reverse split shares.

 

Additional information about the reverse stock split can be found in the Company's proxy statement furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 19, 2017, a copy of which is available at www.sec.gov.

 

About TOP Ships Inc.

 

TOP Ships Inc. is an international ship-owning company.

 

For more information about TOP Ships Inc., visit its website: www.topships.org.

 

Forward-Looking Statements

 

Matters discussed in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides safe harbor protections for forward-looking statements in order to encourage companies to provide prospective information about their business. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements, which are other than statements of historical facts.

 

 

 

The Company desires to take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and is including this cautionary statement in connection with this safe harbor legislation. The words "believe," "anticipate," "intends," "estimate," "forecast," "project," "plan," "potential," "may," "should," "expect" "pending" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions, including without limitation, our management's examination of historical operating trends, data contained in our records and other data available from third parties. Although we believe that these assumptions were reasonable when made, because these assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond our control, we cannot assure you that we will achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs or projections.

 

In addition to these important factors, other important factors that, in our view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include the strength of world economies and currencies, general market conditions, including fluctuations in charter rates and vessel values, failure of a seller to deliver one or more vessels or of a buyer to accept delivery of one or more vessels, inability to procure acquisition financing, default by one or more charterers of our ships, changes in the demand for crude oil and petroleum products, changes in demand for dry bulk shipping capacity, changes in our operating expenses, including bunker prices, drydocking and insurance costs, the market for our vessels, availability of financing and refinancing, changes in governmental rules and regulations or actions taken by regulatory authorities, potential liability from pending or future litigation, general domestic and international political conditions, potential disruption of shipping routes due to accidents or political events, vessels breakdowns and instances of off-hires and other factors. Please see our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a more complete discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties.

 

The information contained in this report on Form 6-K is hereby incorporated by reference into the Company's registration statement on Form F-3 (File No. 333-215577) that was filed with the SEC and became effective on February 1, 2017.

 

 

 

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.

 

 

 

 

 

  TOP SHIPS INC.  
  (Registrant)  
     
Dated:  October 5, 2017 By: /s/ Evangelos Pistiolis  
 

Evangelos Pistiolis

Chief Executive Officer