13D Filing: Sovereign Holdings Inc. and Top Ships Inc. (TOPS)

TOP SHIPS INC.

(Name of Issuer)

Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share

(Title of Class of Securities)

Y8897Y404

(CUSIP Number)

George Economou G.C. Economou & Associates 11 Kanari Street 106 71 Athens, Greece 011 (30) 210 364 0030

(Name, Address and Telephone Number of Person Authorized to Receive Notices and Communications)

May 18, 2017

(Date of Event Which Requires Filing of This Statement)

If the filing person has previously filed a statement on Schedule 13G to report the acquisition that is the subject of this Schedule 13D, and is filing this schedule because of §§ 240.13d-1(e), 240.13d‑1(f) or 240.13d-1(g), check the following box ☐.

Note:  Schedules filed in paper format shall include a signed original and five copies of the schedule, including all exhibits.  See Rule 13d-7 for other parties to whom copies are to be sent.

* The remainder of this cover page shall be filled out for a reporting person’s initial filing on this form with respect to the subject class of securities, and for any subsequent amendment containing information which would alter disclosures provided in a prior cover page.

The information required on the remainder of this cover page shall not be deemed to be “filed” for the purpose of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Act“) or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section of the Act but shall be subject to all other provisions of the Act (however, see the Notes).

(1) Represents 106,641 Common Shares currently held by Family Trading Inc.

(2)  See Item 5(a).

(1) Represents 24,602 Common Shares currently held by Sovereign Holdings Inc.

(2) See Item 5(a).

(1) Represents 11,084 Common Shares currently held by Epsilon Holdings Inc.

(2) See Item 5(a).

(1) Represents 7,850 Common Shares currently held by Oscar Shipholding Ltd.

(2) See Item 5(a).

(1) Represents 12,500 Common Shares currently held by Race Navigation Inc. and 4,650,000 Common Shares issuable upon exercise of warrants currently held by Race Navigation Inc. See Item 3 below.

(2) See Item 5(a).

(1) Represents 9,150 Common Shares currently held by Tankers Family Inc.

(2) On May 8, 2017, the Issuer (defined below) issued 100,000 shares of Series D Preferred Stock to Tankers Family Inc. One share of Series D Preferred Stock has the voting power of 1,000 Common Shares. Shares of the Series D Preferred Stock are not convertible into Common Shares.  See Item 6.

(3) See Item 5(a).

(1) The Lax Trust is an irrevocable trust established for the benefit of certain family members of Evangelos Pistiolis, the President, Chief Executive Officer and Director of the Issuer. The Lax Trust is the sole shareholder of Family Trading Inc., Sovereign Holdings Inc., Epsilon Holdings Inc., Oscar Shipholding Ltd, Race Navigation Inc., and Tankers Family Inc., each a Marshall Islands corporation (collectively, the “Holding Companies“) and may be deemed to beneficially own all of the Common Shares and shares of Series D Preferred Stock beneficially owned by the Holding Companies, as applicable.

(2) See Item 5(a).

This Amendment No. 23 (this “Amendment No. 23“) amends and supplements the Schedule 13D/A (the “Schedule 13D/A“) filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission“) on behalf of Family Trading Inc. (“Family Trading“), Sovereign Holdings Inc. (“Sovereign“), Epsilon Holdings Inc. (“Epsilon“), Oscar Shipholding Ltd (“Oscar“), Race Navigation Inc. (“Race Navigation“), Tankers Family Inc. (“Tankers Family“), and the Lax Trust (the “Trust“, and collectively, the “Reporting Persons“) on May 8, 2017. Capitalized terms used herein but not otherwise defined shall have the meaning set forth in the Schedule 13D/A filed with the Commission on May 8, 2017.

Item 1.          Security and Issuer

This Amendment No. 23 is being filed with respect to the outstanding shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share (the “Common Shares“) of TOP Ships Inc., a corporation incorporated in the Marshall Islands (the “Issuer“).

(a, b, c and f.) This Amendment No. 23 is being filed on behalf of the Reporting Persons. Unless otherwise noted, the principal business address of the persons listed in Item 2 is 11 Kanari Street, 106 71 Athens, Greece. Unless otherwise indicated, the present principal occupation of each person is with the applicable Reporting Person.

The business address of the Trust is Level 3, 18 Stanley Street, Auckland 1010, New Zealand. The Trust is an irrevocable trust established under the laws of New Zealand under an agreement dated March 12, 2015 for the benefit of certain family members of Evangelos Pistiolis, the President, Chief Executive Officer and Director of the Issuer.  The New Zealand Trust Corporation Limited is the trustee (the “Trustee“) of the Trust.  The Trust may be deemed to own all of the outstanding shares of the Holding Companies.

Family Trading is a corporation established under the laws of the Marshall Islands. Its principal business is acting as an investment holding company. Dimosthenes Eleftheriadis is the President, Treasurer and Director of Family Trading and Stylianos Giamanis is the Vice President and Secretary of Family Trading. Mr. Eleftheriadis is a citizen of Greece and Mr. Giamanis is a citizen of Greece.

Sovereign is a corporation established under the laws of the Marshall Islands. Its principal business is acting as an investment holding company. Annita Hadjipaschali is the President and Director of Sovereign, Stylianos Giamanis is the Vice President and Director of Sovereign and Pinelopi Platsouka is the Secretary, Treasurer and Director of Sovereign. Ms. Hadjipaschali is a citizen of Greece, Mr. Giamanis is a citizen of Greece and Ms. Platsouka is a citizen of Greece.

Epsilon is a corporation established under the laws of the Marshall Islands. Its principal business is acting as an investment holding company.  Dimosthenes Eleftheriadis is the President, Treasurer and Director of Epsilon and Pinelopi Platsouka is the Vice President, Secretary and Director of Epsilon.  Mr. Eleftheriadis is a citizen of Greece and Ms. Platsouka is a citizen of Greece.

Oscar is a company established under the laws of the Marshall Islands. Its principal business is acting as an investment holding company.  Stylianos Giamanis is the President, Treasurer and Director of Oscar and Pinelopi Platsouka is the Vice President, Secretary and Director of Oscar. Mr. Giamanis is a citizen of Greece and Ms. Platsouka is a citizen of Greece.

Race Navigation is a corporation established under the laws of the Marshall Islands. Its principal business is acting as an investment holding company.  Stylianos Giamanis is the President, Treasurer and Director of Race Navigation and Dimosthenes Eleftheriadis is the Vice President, Secretary and Director of Race Navigation. Mr. Giamanis is a citizen of Greece and Mr. Eleftheriadis is a citizen of Greece.

Tankers Family is a corporation established under the laws of the Marshall Islands. Its principal business is acting as an investment holding company.  Stylianos Giamanis is the President, Treasurer and Director of Tankers Family and Dimosthenes Eleftheriadis is the Vice President, Secretary and Director of Tankers Family. Mr. Giamanis is a citizen of Greece and Mr. Eleftheriadis is a citizen of Greece.

(d. and e.) To the best of the Reporting Persons’ knowledge, none of the persons listed in Item 2, including the Trustee, have, during the last five years been (i) convicted in a criminal proceeding (excluding traffic violations or similar misdemeanors) or (ii) a party to a civil proceeding of a judicial or administrative body of competent jurisdiction and as result of such proceeding was or is subject to a judgment, decree or final order enjoining future violations of, or prohibiting or mandating activities subject to, federal or state securities laws or finding any violations with respect to such laws.

Item 3.          Source and Amount of Funds or Other Consideration.

As of May 18, 2017, upon exercise of 1,250,000 Warrants, Race Navigation would be issued 4,650,000 Common Shares.

Item 4.          Purpose of Transaction

The information set forth in Item 3 of this Amendment No. 23 is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

Item 5.          Interest in Securities of the Issuer.

Item 5 is hereby amended and restated in its entirety to read as follows:

(a. and b.) According to information received from the Issuer, as of May 18, 2017, there were 5,752,045 Common Shares issued and outstanding. Based on the foregoing, the Reporting Persons report beneficial ownership of the following Common Shares:

Family Trading may be deemed to beneficially own 106,641 Common Shares, representing approximately 1.9% of the outstanding Common Shares. Family Trading has the sole power to vote or direct the vote of 0 Common Shares and the shared power to vote or direct the vote of 106,641 Common Shares. Family Trading has the sole power to dispose or direct the disposition of 0 Common Shares and the shared power to dispose or direct the disposition of 106,641 Common Shares.

Sovereign may be deemed to beneficially own 24,602 Common Shares, representing approximately 0.4% of the outstanding Common Shares. Sovereign has the sole power to vote or direct the vote of 0 Common Shares and the shared power to vote or direct the vote of 24,602 Common Shares. Sovereign has the sole power to dispose or direct the disposition of 0 Common Shares and the shared power to dispose or direct the disposition of 24,602 Common Shares.

Epsilon may be deemed to beneficially own 11,084 Common Shares, representing approximately 0.2% of the outstanding Common Shares. Epsilon has the sole power to vote or direct the vote of 0 Common Shares and the shared power to vote or direct the vote of 11,084 Common Shares. Epsilon has the sole power to dispose or direct the disposition of 0 Common Shares and the shared power to dispose or direct the disposition of 11,084 Common Shares.

Oscar may be deemed to beneficially own 7,850 Common Shares, representing approximately 0.1% of the outstanding Common Shares. Oscar has the sole power to vote or direct the vote of 0 Common Shares and the shared power to vote or direct the vote of 7,850 Common Shares. Oscar has the sole power to dispose or direct the disposition of 0 Common Shares and the shared power to dispose or direct the disposition of 7,850 Common Shares.

Race Navigation may be deemed to beneficially own 4,662,500 Common Shares, representing approximately 44.8% of the outstanding Common Shares. This percentage ownership is based on 10,402,045 Common Shares outstanding, which is calculated for this Schedule 13D/A purposes by taking the sum of (i) 5,752,045 Common Shares outstanding and (ii) 4,650,000 Common Shares issuable upon the exercise of all of the 1,250,000 Warrants currently held by Race Navigation. Race Navigation has the sole power to vote or direct the vote of 0 Common Shares and the shared power to vote or direct the vote of 4,662,500 Common Shares.  Race Navigation has the sole power to dispose or direct the disposition of 0 Common Shares and the shared power to dispose or direct the disposition of 4,662,500 Common Shares.

Tankers Family may be deemed to beneficially own 9,150 Common Shares, representing approximately 0.2% of the outstanding Common Shares. Tankers Family has the sole power to vote or direct the vote of 0 Common Shares and the shared power to vote or direct the vote of 9,150 Common Shares. Tankers Family has the sole power to dispose or direct the disposition of 0 Common Shares and the shared power to dispose or direct the disposition of 9,150 Common Shares. Tankers Family also beneficially owns 100,000 shares of Series D Preferred Stock. One share of Series D Preferred Stock has the voting power of 1,000 Common Shares. See Item 6.

The Trust may be deemed to beneficially own 4,821,828 Common Shares, representing approximately 46.4% of the outstanding Common Shares. This percentage ownership is based on 10,402,045 Common Shares outstanding, which is calculated for this Schedule 13D/A purposes by taking the sum of (i) 5,752,045 Common Shares outstanding, and (ii) 4,650,000 Common Shares issuable upon the exercise of all of the 1,250,000 Warrants currently held by Race Navigation. The Trustee of the Trust has the sole power to vote or direct the vote of 0 Common Shares and the shared power to vote or direct the vote of 4,821,828 Common Shares. The Trustee of the Trust has the sole power to dispose or direct the disposition of 0 Common Shares and the shared power to dispose or direct the disposition 4,821,828 Common Shares.

To the best knowledge of the Reporting Persons, none of the other persons named in response to Item 2 have the sole power to vote or to direct the vote, the shared power to vote or direct the vote, the sole power to dispose or to direct the disposition of the Common Shares that are the subject of the Schedule 13D/A and this Amendment No. 23. Voting and disposition of the Common Shares held by the Reporting Persons require the approval of the Trustee of the Trust.

(c.) Except for those transactions described herein (see Item 3), to the best knowledge of the Reporting Persons, no other transactions in the Common Shares were effected by the persons enumerated in response to paragraph (a) during the past 60 days.

(d.) No other person is known to have the right to receive or the power to direct the receipt of dividends from, or the proceeds from the sale of, any of the Common Shares beneficially owned by the Reporting Persons.

(e.) Not applicable.

Item 6.          Contracts, Arrangements, Understandings or Relationships With Respect to Securities of the Issuer.

The information set forth in Item 3 of this Amendment No. 23 is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

Amended Family Trading Credit Facility

The Issuer previously entered into an agreement with Family Trading pursuant to which Family Trading lent the Issuer up to $15.0 million under an unsecured revolving credit facility (the “Family Trading Credit Facility“) in order to fund the Issuer’s newbuilding program and working capital relating to its operating vessels. The Family Trading Credit Facility was due to be repaid December 31, 2016 but the maturity was extended until February 28, 2017.

On February 21, 2017, the Issuer amended and restated the Family Trading Credit Facility (the “Amended Family Trading Credit Facility“) in order to, among other things, remove any limitation in the use of funds drawn down under the facility, reduce the mandatory cash payment due under the facility when the Issuer raises capital through the issuance of certain securities, remove the revolving feature of the facility, and extend the facility for up to three years. Further, under the terms of the Amended Family Trading Credit Facility, if the Issuer raises capital via the issuance of warrants, debt or equity, it is obliged to repay any amounts due under the Amended Family Trading Credit Facility and any accrued interest and fees up to the time of the issuance in cash or in Common Shares at Family Trading’s option. Family Trading retains the right to delay this mandatory repayment at its absolute discretion. For the first six months after the execution of the facility, no more than $3.5 million can be mandatorily prepaid in cash. Subject to certain adjustments pursuant to the terms of the Amended Family Trading Credit Facility, the number of common shares to be issued as repayment of the amounts outstanding under the facility will be calculated by dividing the amount redeemed by 80% of the lowest daily volume weighted average price (“VWAP“) of the common shares on the Nasdaq Capital Market during the twenty consecutive trading days ending on the trading day prior to the payment date (the “Applicable Price“), provided, however, that at no time shall the Applicable Price be lower than $0.60 per common share (the “Floor Price“).

a.

the price per share issued upon an equity offering of the Issuer;

b.

the exercise price of warrants or options for Common Shares;

c.

the conversion price of any convertible security into Common Shares; or

d.

the implied exchange price of the Common Shares pursuant to an asset to equity or liability to equity swap,

then the Applicable Price will be reduced to the Issuance Price. Finally, in case the Applicable Price is higher than the exercise price of the Warrants, the Applicable Price will be reduced to the exercise price of such outstanding Warrants.

As of May 18, 2017, there are no amounts outstanding under the Amended Family Trading Credit Facility.

Series D Preferred Stock

On April 21, 2017, the Issuer was informed by one of its senior lenders, ABN Amro Bank N.V. (“ABN Amro“), that the Issuer was in breach of a loan covenant that requires that any member of the family of Mr. Evangelos Pistiolis, the Issuer’s President, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, maintain an ownership interest (either directly and/or indirectly through companies beneficially owned by any member of the Pistiolis family and/or trusts or foundations of which any member of the Pistiolis family are beneficiaries) of 30% of the outstanding Common Shares. ABN Amro requested that either the family of Mr. Evangelos Pistiolis maintain an ownership interest of at least 30% of the outstanding Common Shares or maintain a voting rights interest of above 50% in the Company. In order to regain compliance with the loan covenant, on April 27, 2017, the Issuer’s board of directors authorized the Company to create a new class of non-convertible preferred stock with voting power of one thousand (1,000) Common Shares per preferred share and grant 100,000 of these preferred shares to the Pistiolis family.

On May 8, 2017, the Issuer issued 100,000 shares of Series D Preferred Stock to Tankers Family. One share of Series D Preferred Stock has the voting power of 1,000 Common Shares. Shares of the Series D Preferred Stock are not convertible into Common Shares and have no dividend or other economic rights.

To the best of the Reporting Persons’ knowledge and except as described in this Amendment No. 23, there are no other materials changes from the Schedule 13D/A filed with the Commission on May 8, 2017.

Item 7.          Material to be Filed as Exhibits.

SIGNATURE

After reasonable inquiry and to the best of our knowledge and belief, the undersigned certify that the information set forth in this statement is true, complete and correct.

Attention: Intentional misstatements or omissions of fact constitute Federal criminal violations (See 18 U.S.C. 1001).

EXHIBIT A

JOINT FILING UNDERTAKING

The undersigned, being duly authorized thereunto, hereby executes this agreement as an exhibit to this Schedule 13D/A with respect to the shares of common stock of TOP Ships Inc. to evidence the agreement of the below-named parties, in accordance with the rules promulgated pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, to file this Schedule 13D/A, and any amendments hereto, jointly on behalf of each such party.