Norwegian shipping and investment group Wilh Wilhelmsen Holding is seeking to take full control of a subsidiary that controls a significant chunk of South Korean shipowner Hyundai Glovis.

Oslo-listed investment vehicle Treasure holds 11% of the Seoul-based car carrier, tanker and gas ship specialist, a stake worth $528m.

Wilh Wilhelmsen, led by Thomas Wilhelmsen, in turn has 77.96% of Treasure, or 160m shares.

It has launched an offer for all the other shares, ending on 21 June.

The price is NOK 20 ($1.80) per share, 9.3% above Tuesday’s close of NOK 18.30.

Treasure’s market cap is NOK 4.1bn ($370m), meaning the 22% slice not held by Wilh Wilhelmsen is currently worth $81m.

Wilh Wilhelmsen's shareholding in Treasure has remained above 70% since before the listing of Treasure in 2016.

“Given the relatively low liquidity in the Treasure shares on the Oslo Stock Exchange over time, Wilh Wilhelmsen Holding is making the offer for the purposes of offering a liquidity event to all Treasure shareholders,” the company said.

The group could consider a delisting if it reaches around 90% ownership.

Arctic Securities is acting as financial advisor.

Hyundai Glovis has a market cap of KRW 6.3 trillion ($4.6bn) and a fleet worth $3.85bn, according to VesselsValue. There are 32 car carriers, four VLCCs, an LNG carrier, two VLGCs and five bulkers.

‘Significant’ investment capacity

Treasure’s annual report for 2022 shows its main source of income is the dividend received as a shareholder of Hyundai Glovis.

Income was $13.5m last year, with a loss before tax of $32.6m.

The company said in the report: “In 2023, Treasure will continue to build and extend its strategic relationship with Hyundai Glovis. Given the strong balance sheet, the investment capacity is significant.”

In March 2022, Treasure management formally raised a human rights-related issue with Hyundai Glovis, related to “unacceptable vessel recycling practices” for time charter contracts.

The company asked Hyundai Glovis to implement a clear policy regarding scrapping vessels according to the Hong Kong Convention, as it does for owned ships.

Wilh Wilhelmsen made a profit of $65m in the first quarter, down from $133m in the same period of 2022 as financial costs rose.

Of this, $56m came from its stake in car carrier giant Wallenius Wilhelmsen.

But there was a fall in the value of its stake in Hyundai Glovis.