Norwegian shipowner Wilh Wilhelmsen has teamed up with compatriot private equity fund Ferd Cooperation to target investments in the offshore market.
It comes as the Oslo-based group looks to expand its interests outside of its existing shipping and logistics operations.
Benedicte Teigen Gude, head of communications at Wilhelmsen, told TradeWinds the project would look at potential investment openings across the offshore market and would not be limited to one particular subsector.
She said simply that target investments would span anything the group finds interesting, given its existing competence and knowledge. No figure has been placed on how much capital Wilhelmsen may place into the partnership.
Wilhelmsen is already present in the offshore arena via a 40% stake in NorSea Group.
Wilhelmsen, which has not previously worked with Ferd, was historically active in the drilling market but sold out in the mid-1980s.
The group also had a large OSV fleet under the banner of Wilhelmsen Offshore Services (WOS) in the mid-1980s
It sold out to Farstad in order to cut losses during a major market downturn, providing a key part in the buildup of what is today Oslo-listed Farstad Shipping.
Morten Borge, an investment director at Ferd, told Finansavisen the new venture was looking at the offshore oil and supply markets which he expected to experience a long downturn.
Best known as a major player in the car carrier segment, Wilhelmsen looked at buying Western Bulk Carriers earlier this year before Christen Sveaas took the company private.
Gude said dry bulk was not a specific target for the group but it does have a strategic aim to expand into new areas in order to grow its shipping portfolio.
The offshore supply sector has attracted consolidation interest from fellow Norwegian heavyweights Kristian Siem and Kjell Inge Rokke, however, Gude stressed that the new vehicle had not presented itself as a consolidator.
