BW Group has offloaded a 5.1% stake in Hafnia for NOK 1.9bn ($178m) ahead of a potential US listing of the product tanker owner.
Andreas Sohmen-Pao’s BW sold 26m shares in Oslo-listed Hafnia for NOK 73 per share, according to an Oslo Stock Exchange filing.
The shares fell as much as 4% to NOK 74 on Wednesday.
BW now owns 220.1m shares in Hafnia, which is equal to 43.14%.
The share sale is intended to increase the trading liquidity in Hafnia in support of the planned dual listing in the US stock market.
The seller has entered into a 180-day customary lock-up on the remaining shares in Hafnia.
Castel, a company related to Erik Bartnes, who is a director of Hafnia, was allocated a 27,397 shares.
DNB Markets, Fearnley Securities, and Pareto Securities acted as joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners in the block sale.
Earlier in March, BW signalled its intention to sell some of its holding in US-listed VLCC owner DHT Holdings.
A US Securities and Exchange Commission filing by DHT revealed that BW listed 7.48m shares for disposal — a 4.65% slice worth $82.9m.
BW Group acquired the shares in 2017 when DHT bought its VLCC fleet, consisting of nine vessels and two newbuildings, in a stock deal.
The Singapore owner held 25.8m shares in DHT, equivalent to 16%, before the latest contemplated sale.
BW will hold 18.3m shares (11%) if it goes through.
Hafnia has been making big profits in strong clean carrier markets following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
