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 UNDER

THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

For the month of July, 2013

 

Commission File Number: 000-51672

 

FREESEAS INC.

(Name of Registrant)

 

10, Eleftheriou Venizelou Street (Panepistimiou Ave.), 106 71, Athens, Greece

(Address of principal executive office)

 

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): ¨

 

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): ¨

  

 
 

On June 25, 2013, the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York (the “Court”), entered an order (the “Order”) approving, among other things, the fairness of the terms and conditions of an exchange pursuant to Section 3(a)(10) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), in accordance with a stipulation of settlement (the “Settlement Agreement”) between FreeSeas Inc., a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (the “Company”), and Hanover Holdings I, LLC, a New York limited liability company (“Hanover”), in the matter entitled Hanover Holdings I, LLC v. FreeSeas Inc., Case No. 651950/2013 (the “Action”). Hanover commenced the Action against the Company on May 31, 2013 to recover an aggregate of $5,331,011.90 of past-due accounts payable of the Company, plus fees and costs (the “Claim”). The Order provides for the full and final settlement of the Claim and the Action. The Settlement Agreement became effective and binding upon the Company and Hanover upon execution of the Order by the Court on June 25, 2013.

 

As previously reported, pursuant to the terms of the Settlement Agreement approved by the Order, on June 26, 2013, the Company issued and delivered to Hanover 890,000 shares (the “Initial Settlement Shares”) of the Company’s common stock, $0.001 par value (the “Common Stock”), and between July 2, 2013 and July 26, 2013, the Company issued and delivered to Hanover an aggregate of 6,283,000 Additional Settlement Shares (as defined below).

 

The Settlement Agreement provides that the Initial Settlement Shares will be subject to adjustment on the trading day immediately following the Calculation Period (as defined below) to reflect the intention of the parties that the total number of shares of Common Stock to be issued to Hanover pursuant to the Settlement Agreement be based upon a specified discount to the trading volume weighted average price (the “VWAP”) of the Common Stock for a specified period of time subsequent to the Court’s entry of the Order. Specifically, the total number of shares of Common Stock to be issued to Hanover pursuant to the Settlement Agreement shall be equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (i) $5,331,011.90 by (ii) 75% of the VWAP of the Common Stock over the 120-consecutive trading day period immediately following the date of issuance of the Initial Settlement Shares (or such shorter trading-day period as may be determined by Hanover in its sole discretion by delivery of written notice to the Company) (the “Calculation Period”), rounded up to the nearest whole share (the “VWAP Shares”). As a result, the Company ultimately may be required to issue to Hanover substantially more shares of Common Stock than the number of shares heretofore issued (subject to the limitations described below). The Settlement Agreement further provides that if, at any time and from time to time during the Calculation Period, Hanover reasonably believes that the total number of shares of Common Stock previously issued to Hanover shall be less than the total number of VWAP Shares to be issued to Hanover or its designee in connection with the Settlement Agreement, Hanover may, in its sole discretion, deliver one or more written notices to the Company, at any time and from time to time during the Calculation Period, requesting that a specified number of additional shares of Common Stock promptly be issued and delivered to Hanover or its designee (subject to the limitations described below), and the Company will upon such request reserve and issue the number of additional shares of Common Stock requested to be so issued and delivered in the notice (all of such additional shares of Common Stock, “Additional Settlement Shares”). At the end of the Calculation Period, (i) if the number of VWAP Shares exceeds the number of Initial Settlement Shares and Additional Settlement Shares issued, then the Company will issue to Hanover or its designee additional shares of Common Stock equal to the difference between the number of VWAP Shares and the number of Initial Settlement Shares and Additional Settlement Shares, and (ii) if the number of VWAP Shares is less than the number of Initial Settlement Shares and Additional Settlement Shares issued, then Hanover or its designee will return to the Company for cancellation that number of shares of Common Stock equal to the difference between the number of VWAP Shares and the number of Initial Settlement Shares and Additional Settlement Shares. Hanover may sell the shares of Common Stock issued to it or its designee in connection with the Settlement Agreement at any time without restriction, even during the Calculation Period.

 

 
 

The Settlement Agreement provides that in no event shall the number of shares of Common Stock issued to Hanover or its designee in connection with the Settlement Agreement, when aggregated with all other shares of Common Stock then beneficially owned by Hanover and its affiliates (as calculated pursuant to Section 13(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and the rules and regulations thereunder), result in the beneficial ownership by Hanover and its affiliates (as calculated pursuant to Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations thereunder) at any time of more than 9.99% of the Common Stock.

 

Since the issuance of the Initial Settlement Shares and the Additional Settlement Shares described above, on July 29, 2013, Hanover demonstrated to the Company’s satisfaction that it was entitled to receive 700,000 Additional Settlement Shares based on the adjustment formula described above, and that the issuance of such Additional Settlement Shares to Hanover would not result in Hanover exceeding the beneficial ownership limitation set forth above. Accordingly, on July 29, 2013, the Company issued and delivered to Hanover 700,000 Additional Settlement Shares, in each case pursuant to the terms of the Settlement Agreement approved by the Order.

 

The issuance of Common Stock to Hanover pursuant to the terms of the Settlement Agreement approved by the Order is exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act pursuant to Section 3(a)(10) thereof, as an issuance of securities in exchange for bona fide outstanding claims, where the terms and conditions of such issuance are approved by a court after a hearing upon the fairness of such terms and conditions at which all persons to whom it is proposed to issue securities in such exchange shall have the right to appear.

 

 
 

SIGNATURE

 

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.

  

 

  FREESEAS INC.
   
Date:  July 29, 2013 By: /s/ ALEXANDROS MYLONAS
  Alexandros Mylonas
  Chief Financial Officer