John Fredriksen and International Seaways are playing together nicely.
The two sides even got lunch ahead of Pareto Securities’ annual Energy Conference in Oslo this week.
“That has been an interesting relationship,“ International Seaways finance chief Jeffrey Pribor said during the company’s presentation. “We have a really nice relationship with those guys.”
The New York-listed shipowner — which has a fleet of 82 vessels split roughly 50/50 between crude and product tankers — was once thought to be a potential takeover target for Fredriksen’s privately held Seatankers when, in the spring of 2022, the company snagged 16% of its shares.
The move came amid Fredriksen-backed Frontline’s Euronav takeover attempt, which resulted in Euronav selling Frontline 24 of its VLCCs earlier this year.
While the Norwegian magnate did briefly seem to take an activist stance in May 2023 after International Seaways adopted a poison pill provision, he appears to have taken a more relaxed posture towards the company.
Pribor said talks earlier this year resulted in TGS chief executive Kristian Johansen taking a seat on the International Seaways board, which included a provision that he could be removed if a “Seatankers opposition event” occurs.
He added that he “loved” having Johansen on the board and that Seatankers is particularly happy with International Seaways’ dividend policy.
So far this year, the company has paid six dividends, a combination of regular quarterly dividends and supplementary dividends totalling $4.57 per share.
On Wednesday, it also bought back more than 500,000 of its own shares for $25m total, or roughly half the $50m share buyback programme set to run through 2025.
