Peter Georgiopoulos's latest dry-bulk venture Baltic Trading has raised $228.2m in its initial public offering (IPO) after pricing shares on the low-end of the spectrum.

The Genco Shipping and Trading spin-off sold 16.3m shares of common stock at $14 a piece, according to documents filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A cash injection from Genco, who snapped up 5.7m shares, boosted Baltic to the $300m mark.

Baltic hoped to raise up to $300m by pricing the stock between $14 and $16 per share, according to a prospectus filed the SEC.

As TradeWinds has reported, Baltic Trading intends to use the proceeds from the IPO to purchase dry-bulk carriers, including the 53,100-dwt Inta, Borak, Sinova and Spice (all built 2009) for $35m a piece.

The company also plans to buy two 177,000-dwt capesize newbuildings for about $72m each from an unidentified Greek shipowner. The vessels are currently on order at Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding in China.

The offering is set to close on 15 March with Morgan Stanley and Dahlman Rose leading the team of underwriters. They have a 30-day option to purchase 2.44m shares to cover any over-allotments.

Baltic expects to begin trading Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "BALT".