The heirs of former Norwegian shipbroker RS Platou’s founding fathers have offloaded some more of their shares in London-listed Clarksons.
A filing reveals Oslo-based investment company RS Platou Holding has reduced its stake in the UK shipbroking giant from 6.63% to 4.85%.
This 1.78% slice would be worth £17.8m ($21.4m) at the current share price of £32.75.
RS Platou was taken over by Clarksons in 2015.
The Norwegian broker was founded by Hans Thomas Gram and his uncle, Ragnar Stoud Platou, in 1936.
Gram died in 2005 at the age of 91.
The Platou name was dropped from Clarksons’ brands last year.
A day after the filing, Aegon Asset Management revealed it had built a 2.87% holding, from zero previously.
This chunk is worth £28.7m.
Clarksons has a £1bn market cap currently, up nearly 5% so far in 2023.
RS Platou Holding was among the biggest shareholders in Clarksons.
It cut its holding from 7.1% in 2018.
Fidelity heads shareholder list
Fidelity Management & Research has been reported as the biggest investor with 6.89%, with RS Platou Holding second before it sold the shares.
New York investor BlackRock increased its stake to 5.38% in the London-listed group in 2020.
Former RS Platou chief executive Peter Anker is also a shareholder.
He sold a portion of his shares in the shipbroker in 2018.
A former Aegon brand, Kames Capital, has previously been a Clarksons investor.
In 2018, the company raised its holding from 2.78% to 3.57%.
Brand names were reorganised under the Aegon name in 2020.
