AP Moller-Maersk has sold its entire position of 20m shares in Hoegh Autoliners for NOK 1.8bn ($169m), removing its status as the car carrier operator’s second-largest stakeholder.
The shares, which were sold at NOK 90 each, represented about 10.5% ownership and voting rights in Oslo-listed Hoegh Autoliners.
Investment ABG Sundal Collier acted as sole financial adviser and book runner for the transaction, while Advokatfirmaet BAHR acted as legal adviser.
Maersk, which is led by chief executive Vincent Clerc, will still hold a seat on Hoegh Autoliners’ board of directors.
Stock exchange data shows that in September, the container shipping giant sold 16.9m Hoegh Autoliners shares, amounting to about 8.9% of the company, for NOK 1.23bn.
Norway-based Leif Hoegh & Co is Hoegh Autoliners’ largest shareholder with 79.3m shares representing a 41.6% stake in the company, according to information on Hoegh Autoliners’ website.
Luxembourg-based Clearstream Banking has become Hoegh Autoliners’ second-largest shareholder as a result of the Maersk divestment, holding 4.82m shares that make for a 2.52% stake in the owner.
State Street Bank and Trust, which is headquartered in the US, is now Hoegh Autoliners’ third biggest investor with 4.55m shares representing a 2.38% stake in the company.
Hoegh Autoliners has a market capitalisation of NOK 17.6bn, according to Yahoo Finance.
The stock, which trades on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol HAUTO, gained 1% on Monday to close at NOK 92.45 in Oslo.
As previously reported in TradeWinds, Hoegh Autoliners chief executive Andreas Enger sold 620,000 shares of the company for NOK 53.4m ($4.8m) on 10 November.
He sold each share for NOK 86.07 through his Damgard Invest holding company. He retains 1.24m shares, or 0.65%, of Hoegh Autoliners.
Damgard Invest has entered into a 12-month lock-up agreement with the shipowner for the remaining shareholding.
