Private Croatian owner Tankerska Plovidba is to make an offer for the rest of listed spin-off Tankerska Next Generation (TNG) after snapping up large amounts of shares in recent days.
The tanker and bulker player is aiming for 100% ownership of the MR product carrier specialist after building its stake from 51% to 91.4% in a week.
The parent’s law firm — Mamic, Peric, Reberski, Rimac — has now issued a statement saying the company intends to make a voluntary tender offer to the minority shareholders.
The law firm added that the tender offer will be announced in line with the time framework laid down by takeover law.
Tankerska Plovibda has not detailed any plans for TNG. A bid for all of a company’s shares is often a prelude to a delisting.
But the parent could also simply view the shares as good value following a resurgence in product tanker rates and asset values.
TNG has a market cap of HRK 653m ($85m). VesselsValue rates the Zagreb-listed company’s fleet of six modern MR ships as worth $216m, while Tankerska Plovibda’s fleet of a suezmax, four aframaxes, three handysize bulkers and six ferries is worth $261m.
On Tuesday, Tankerska Plovidba snapped up a 13.7% slice of TNG from seven pension funds under the management of Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank.
The 1,192,666 shares were bought at HRK 75 each.
Before this, Tankerska Plovidba bought an 11% stake at the same price.
Another fund sells out
Part of this tranche, a nearly 10% chunk, was acquired from eight pension funds under the management of Erste Plavi.
A new filing shows that the second-biggest investor — the pension fund PBZ Croatia Osiguranje — has now also sold its entire 9.71% holding.
TNG was floated through an initial public offering in 2015 that raised $30.64m, $10m short of its target.
The fleet was eventually expanded from three ships with the cash.
Tankerska Plovidba owned 55.6% of TNG at that point.
