Stolt-Nielsen has confirmed that it now controls a “large shareholding” in fellow Norwegian chemical tanker owner Odfjell.
It said it controls 5% of its Oslo-listed rival following the acquisition of 4,641 class A shares.
Stolt-Nielsen’s stake of 3.28m shares makes it the seventh-largest shareholder in Odfjell if A and B shares are taken into account.
Laurence Ward Odfjell has the biggest chunk, 38.76%.
Stolt-Nielsen, the world’s largest chemical tanker operator, said the move is a financial investment.
Odfjell told TradeWinds there has been no contact from Stolt-Nielsen bosses.
“We have seen changes in our shareholder base, but not who has been the buyer,” a spokesman added.
‘Interesting’ move
“I guess they see the same we do when it comes to the attractive outlook for our industry. And we find it interesting and positive that a competitor [finds] our shares more attractive than their own.”
Stolt-Nielsen has about a 10% market share in the sector, the single biggest player, but there is a long trail of more than 20 other operators with shares ranging from 7% to fractions of 1%.
In its fourth-quarter results, it said consolidation was required for a sustainable chemical tanker market — improving flexibility, service offering, efficiency and returns.
Chief executive Niels Stolt-Nielsen believes the industry is too fragmented to combat what he has long argued are unsustainable returns from the vessels over several years.
He told analysts on a conference call in January that the only way to make returns sustainable is scale, and efficiency through larger fleets is the only way he knows that could improve the situation.
Stolt Tankers’ fleet of 160 includes more than 70 deepsea ships. Odfjell’s fleet numbers 89 vessels, of which 28 are owned and the rest leased, chartered or in pools.
Shares in Odfjell, currently NOK 35 ($3.87) each, are up just over 4% this year, but have risen by more than 27% in the past 12 months.
It recently reported its first quarterly profit for more than a year, making a net profit of $15.4m in the final three months of 2021.
