Norwegian hedge fund pulls out of Golden Ocean amid CMB.Tech takeover bid
The Belgian company increased its share in the bulk owner again and now controls just under half of Golden Ocean
Sissener said it did not want to be part of a potential CMB.Tech and Golden Ocean merger and sold its stake in March following John Fredriksen’s exit
CMB.Tech has continued its targeting of Golden Ocean shares with another acquisition, meaning the Belgian company now owns 49.4% of the issued shares.
Its latest purchase was made late last week, when it acquired 9.7m shares for about $79.9m.
Norwegian hedge fund Sissener revealed in its monthly report that it had sold its stake in Golden Ocean in March, following the CMB.Tech spending spree.
“We were concerned that CMBT might acquire additional shares and force a merger with GOGL at a later stage, something we were not willing to participate in,” the fund said.
The move followed John Fredriksen’s exit from the company after he sold his 40% stake in Golden Ocean to CMB.Tech for nearly $1.2bn.
It still retains some skin in the dry bulk market, following investments in fellow dry bulk operators Himalaya Shipping and Star Bulk, the latter of which Fredriksen purchased a 10% stake in following his Golden Ocean exit.
