A key lieutenant of John Fredriksen has rejected the idea of a merger of Avance Gas, a company that the Norwegian shipping magnate controls, with BW LPG.
A few weeks ago, BW LPG announced it had purchased 5.9m Avance shares, representing a 9.14% stake in the Fredriksen-dominated VLGC company.
The BW Group spin-off's chief executive, Anders Onarheim, insisted that the share buy was purely a financial investment but added that he would welcome talks with Fredriksen.
Onarheim has said there are clear advantages in consolidation in the segment and that a merger between the two companies would create a strong company.
But Marius Hermansen, who is chairman of Avance Gas Holding and Fredriksen’s shipping boss, opposed any talk of a merger with BW LPG.
"We think the LPG market is very interesting and that Avance Gas has a solid position with its modern fleet and two units on order”. Hermansen says Avance stands well on its feet alone," he told Norwegian financial newspaper Finansavisen.
The company has 13 trading VLGCs and two newbuildings and Fredriksen company Hemen Holding owns 24.4% of the shares.
Oslo-listed BW LPG is the biggest owner of VLGCs, controlling a fleet of 46 vessels in the sector.
Avance Gas recently announced it had hired former Fearnleys boss Kristian Sorensen as new chief executive. The Oslo broker is now looking for a replacement for Sorensen.
