BW Group has taken a stake in John Fredriksen's Flex LNG.
As of 31 October, the Andreas Sohmen-Pao-led outfit owns 560,000 shares in the New York and Oslo-traded gas carrier owner, good for just about 1% of the company, Flex disclosed.
It is unclear when or why BW took the position, although sources told TradeWinds the Singapore-based group showed up as an investor sometime in September.
BW was not listed as an investor "as of 2 September, 2019" in a presentation given at a Pareto Securities conference that same month.
The company did not respond to a request for comment.
“We welcome all shareholders to invest in Flex LNG at these Black Friday prices,” Flex LNG chief executive Oystein Kalleklev said Wednesday.
“At today’s prices ships are much cheaper at the stock exchange than from the yards and stocks are also easier to sell than ships.”
The half-million share stake makes the diversified shipowner Flex LNG's seventh largest shareholder, with Fredriksen-connected Geveran Trading holding 24.1 million of the company's 54.1 million outstanding shares.
BW currently has 19 LNG carriers in operation, plus four newbuildings.
Flex has six LNG carriers, plus another seven under construction.
Earlier this year, BW took control of Epic Gas, taking a controlling 54.7% stake in the company for $50m. Last year, the company took control of Hafnia Tankers in a similar manner.
Sohmen-Pao was, however, rebuffed in his attempted hostile takeover of Connecticut-based Dorian LPG, withdrawing the offer last October.
BW owned 14.2% of the company when it proposed a $1.1bn merger. The company has spent 2019 whittling down its position in Dorian from 7.8 million shares to 4.6 million, leaving it with a 8.5% stake.
Flex shares were trading at $78.80 in Oslo, down $1.10 or 1.38%. In New York, shares were down $0.04, or 0.52%, to $8.65.
Lucy Hine and Dale Wainwright contributed to this article.
