Companies controlled by Idan Ofer have taken a 9.53% holding in New York-listed Ardmore Shipping, a new public filing shows.
The Israeli billionaire now holds more than 3.27m shares in the Irish product tanker owner, according to a document filed with US securities regulators.
The filing on form 13G does not contain information on Ofer's intentions in the stakeholding. However, that form is typically used to indicate a stake of more than 5% when there is no aim to influence control of the company.
Ardmore has been contacted for comment on the holding.
The shipowner is a perennial object of takeover speculation even by the acknowledgement of its chief executive, Anthony Gurnee.
Ardmore claims a fleet of about 30 product and chemical carriers ranging between 25,000 dwt and 50,000 dwt, including tankers that are commercially managed or finance-leased.
Ofer’s Ardmore stake was reported by two different entities: Quantum Pacific Shipping and EPS Ventures, a subsidiary of Singapore-based Eastern Pacific Shipping.
Those companies control nearly 80 ships including tankers, bulkers, container ships and gas carriers.
Ofer is also associated with Ace Tankers, the Dutch shipowner that recently acquired six stainless steel chemical carriers from Singapore-based Hafnia for $252.4m.
Hafnia had acquired those last year in its takeover of Oaktree's Chemical Tankers Inc (CTI).
Ace Tankers is described as a joint venture between Eastern Pacific and XT Shipping. It is a commercial management company, focusing on multi-grade, stainless steel chemical tankers, trading worldwide and servicing a long and diversified list of contract affreightment partners and spot cargo owners.
The firm operates 40 chemical ships of between 17,000 dwt and 21,000 dwt and three handysize product tankers.
In 2019, Eastern Pacific swooped for the 13-ship chemical tanker fleet of Hafnia parent BW Group.
In a November 2021 earnings call, Gurnee said Ardmore views the chemical sector as being broadly attractive and a source of long-term growth.
Gurnee said the company could consider expanding its chartered-in fleet, but would be careful not to begin running something akin to a pool.
Ardmore at the time chartered in six ships: two product tankers and four tankers that can trade either petroleum products or chemicals.
The quartet, owned by Germany's Buttner, ranges from 23,998 dwt to 24,035 dwt and was built between 2003 and 2006.
“We would be looking for strategic types of relationships like that, as opposed to just opening the door to people with one and two ships at a time,” Gurnee said at the time.
