Hungary's HOLD Asset Management saw ADS Crude Carriers as a bargain before deciding to build its stake to become the second-biggest investor.
The revelation comes after the company disclosed that it controls 3.5m shares in the Oslo-listed VLCC owner, which represents a holding of 15.3%.
A spokesman told TradeWinds the company had been gradually increasing its stake in ADS over the last one-and-a-half years.
"We are value investors seeking long-term returns," he added.
"Previous management decisions in ADS Crude Carriers and the current 40% discount to the net asset value make [the company] an attractive investment for us."
Ship sale also attractive
ADS last month sold the 299,000-dwt ADS Stratus (built 1992) to an unnamed counterparty for $25.5m. The buyer is thought to be United Arab Emirates-based Marshal Shipping.
The HOLD spokesman said: "We believe the recent ship sale justified the significant upside potential. The strong balance sheet and the liquidity from the vessel sale create an opportunity to decrease the discount by share buy-back."
HOLD confirmed it was the second-largest investor after the 17.2% owned by John Fredriksen's SFL Corp, which sold ADS the three veteran VLCCs with which it started operations in 2018.
Founding shareholder ADS Shipping has 10.6%.
The Hungarian outfit also has a "significant" stake in Oslo-listed MPC Container Ships, it told TradeWinds.
The company added: "We have some smaller investments in other shipping companies."
Independent investor
"We are independent from any financial institution and act in a private partnership structure; four private individuals control the company," the spokesman said.
Budapest-based HOLD describes itself as a 26-year-old "independent regional specialist", with $2bn under management focusing on central and eastern Europe.
The firm is run by chief executive Botond Bilibok, who joined in 1996.
According to the ADS Crude Carriers purchase disclosure, HOLD owns the shares through 11 different funds.
ADS has two remaining scrubber-fitted VLCCs in the fleet.
In the wake of the Front Stratus sale, ADS chairman Bjorn Tore Larsen told TradeWinds that the company's ships are always up for sale for the right price but that "Plan A" was to keep them trading.
