Oaktree Capital Management has bumped up its stake in product tanker player Torm to just over 70% this week.
Torm disclosed on Friday that the Los Angeles-based private equity outfit now owns 52.6m shares or 70.3% of the company, up from 69.2%.
Oaktree's position in the Danish shipowner fuelled speculation earlier in the year that it could be mounting a takeover bid for Ardmore Shipping Corp by taking a stake in the Irish company.
Together, the two would have created one of the largest product tanker companies in the world, with over 100 ships at their disposal.
But days after Ardmore shares jumped by nearly a fifth, Torm chief executive Jacob Meldgaard said he would "love" to grow his company's fleet or consolidate the sector, but that it was too early to comment on anything specific.
Any rumoured private equity investment in Ardmore was not disclosed publicly.
According to a June interview with Meldgaard, when Oaktree owned 67% of the company, Torm's free float was around 13%, with other private equity funds owning 20% of the company.
Then, he said, the options Torm had to increase its share liquidity were limited, given their trading at below net asset value.
The move was made on Wednesday, according to Torm.
Then, the shipowner's shares closed at DKK 42.15 ($6.71) in Copenhagen and $6.69 in New York.
In late trading in Copenhagen, Torm's shares were up 2.5% to DKK 43.90 and up nearly $0.50 to $7.09 shortly after the open in New York.
