Danish investment firm J Lauritzen has become an investor in standalone compatriot shipowner Svitzer Group.
Lauritzen chief executive Kristian Morch confirmed the investment in the towage giant but did not reveal details.
He told TradeWinds: “We prefer not to speak publicly about size, price and strategy for our shareholdings.”
J Lauritzen may have been attracted by a worldwide ports reach, backed by stable long-term contracts for tugs.
The Svitzer holding is likely under 5% as no filing has been made on the new ownership.
Svitzer split from parent AP Moller-Maersk through a demerger last month. The company started trading on the Nasdaq exchange in Copenhagen on 30 April at DKK 200 per share, with investors then sending the market cap soaring past $1bn.
The stock was down 2% on Monday at DKK 228.50 ($33.03), giving a value of DKK 7.2bn ($1.04bn).
In March, J Lauritzen recruited Anders Bruun as its new investment director.
He was previously chief executive of Coach Solutions, a company that provides vessel performance monitoring and weather routing systems.
J Lauritzen’s main investment is owner-operator Lauritzen Bulkers.
Wide shipping interests
The firm also has holdings in BW Epic Kosan, Cadeler, Dan Swift and the funds of Dee4 Capital Partners and Navigare Capital Partners.
Svitzer described the demerger as a natural next chapter, after 45 years as part of Maersk.
Former Maersk veteran Morten Engelstoft chairs the company, with major shareholder and Maersk chairman Robert Maersk Uggla as vice chairman.
Uggla is also the chief executive of AP Moller Holding, which is Svitzer’s largest investor with 41.5%.
Maersk shareholders received all the shares in Svitzer tax-free.
Every A or B share worth a nominal DKK 1,000 entitled the holder to two new shares in Svitzer.
Holders of DKK 500 A and B shares pocketed one Svitzer share, which is worth a nominal DKK 10.
Fearnley Securities said the stock distribution represented about 2% of Maersk’s $25bn market cap.
Svitzer, which operates more than 450 vessels, was founded in 1833 and serves 2,000 clients at more than 140 ports.
