Hungary's HOLD Asset Management has increased its stake in Oslo-listed ADS Crude Carriers to become the biggest shareholder.
The private fund said in its latest disclosure that it had added stock in deals worth $270,000 to move above 20%. The total 20.24% holding is now worth around $10m.
HOLD told TradeWinds: "We increased our stake because we still see a good risk-reward ratio. Based on the last couple of years the management turned out to be shareholder-friendly and made good capital allocation decisions."
This month, ADS handed over the last of its three 2002-built VLCCs sold for $25.5m each to Koban Shipping of the United Arab Emirates.
The company paid out $51m to shareholders from the sales and is now considering further investments in shipping, potentially outside the crude tanker sphere.
The name will be changed to ADS Maritime Holding.
September saw HOLD build its stake to 15.3%.
The fund has now overtaken the 17.2% owned in ADS by John Fredriksen's SFL Corp, which sold ADS the three veteran VLCCs with which it started operations in 2018.
Founding shareholder ADS Shipping has a 10.6% holding.
A HOLD spokesman told TradeWinds at that time that the company had been gradually increasing its stake in ADS over the last one-and-a-half years.
In for the long haul?
"We are value investors seeking long-term returns," he added.
HOLD was attracted by the 40% discount to the net asset value, a strong balance sheet and the liquidity from the first vessel sale.
The Hungarian outfit told TradeWinds it also has a "significant" stake in Oslo-listed MPC Container Ships and smaller investments in other shipping companies.
Budapest-based HOLD describes itself as a 26-year-old "independent regional specialist", with $2bn under management focusing on central and eastern Europe.
The firm is run by chief executive Botond Bilibok, who joined in 1996.
