Oaktree Capital Management, a US private equity firm, is planning to further decrease its ownership in Danish product tanker operator Torm. According to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Oaktree-linked entity OCM Njord Holdings has submitted a proposal to sell 3.5 million class A shares in the Nasdaq-listed company. The transaction is valued at approximately $103.2 million, with Morgan Stanley acting as the broker.
This latest sale continues a pattern of reductions by Oaktree, which has been steadily decreasing its long-standing investment in one of the world’s largest product tanker owners. In March, Torm disclosed that OCM Njord held 23.8 million shares, representing 23.39% of the company’s share capital and voting rights.
The filing follows a previous transaction in December last year, when Hafnia completed its acquisition of 14.2 million Torm shares from Oaktree. That deal, initially announced in September, involved Hafnia purchasing the shares at $22 each for a total of $311.4 million, granting the BW Group-backed tanker owner a 14.45% stake in Torm.
The reduction in Oaktree’s holding has also altered Torm’s governance structure. In January, Torm reported that Oaktree’s ownership had dropped below the one-third threshold specified in the company’s articles of association, which eliminated the role and authority of the B-director. As a result, David Weinstein, who had been serving as deputy chairman and senior independent director, left the board.
Torm, which is listed on exchanges in Copenhagen and New York, operates a fleet of more than 100 product tankers on a fully-delivered basis.
Source: indexbox.io
