Nikolaus Oldendorff, the main shareholder in Reederei Nord, has joined the shareholder ranks at Oslo-based shipping financier M&M Bank by taking a 5.9% stake.
Chief executive Halvor Sveen said he is very pleased with Oldendorff's entry as a shareholder, not least because of his strong shipping competence.
Sveen said Nikolaus Oldendorff will join the M&M board of early next year.
His brother Christian is also now an M&M shareholder with a 3.2% stake.
Their uncle, Oldendorff Carriers boss Henning Oldendorff, was already the biggest shareholder in the bank with a 25% stake.
M&M Bank's shareholder list is dominated by well known shipping and business names, and it also includes Endre Rosjo, Arne Blystad, Arne Fredly and the Roth family. The bank has some 40 shareholders, of which 50% are Norwegians.
M&M Bank started business in 2016 and it logged apre-tax profit of $1m on revenues of $4.8m in the first nine months this year.
“We are building stone on stone,” Sveen said.
This month, the company's shares started trading on the OTC list in Oslo. Sveen does not expect much trade in the share in the initial stages.
“The important thing is that we have created a marketplace for the share. Few of the existing shareholders want to sell at this stage,” he said.
M&M Bank has plans for an IPO next year in order to facilitate further growth for the company.
Sveen has earlier said that he regards Oslo as the capital for ship financing after German banks sharply reduced their activities.
He stressed that the bank in many ways goes against the trend of high-tech banking, focusing on direct over-the-table deals with customers.
He is also a strong believer in a mix of young talent and more experienced bankers.
“That creates dynamics,” Sveen said.
