Stolt-Nielsen Gas and Sungas plot Avance Gas share sale
Athens: Stolt-Nielsen Gas and Sungas Holdings are considering selling 5m of their common shares in Oslo-listed Avance Gas, in which the two companies are major shareholders.
The placement, which is equivalent to 14.2% of the issued shares in Avance, will be made as part of a an advanced bookbuilding process, the two companies said today.
Stolt-Nielsen Gas and Sungas each own a 14.1% stake (4,978,799 common shares) in Avance Gas, with Frontline 2012 holding a 20% stake.
The proposed placement would reduce both companies’ respective shareholdings to 7% (2,478,799 shares) if all the shares in the offering are sold.
No further shares in Avance will be sold until 90 days after the placement has closed without the consent of ABG Sundal Collier and DanskeBank, who will manage the mooted sale.
Christian Andersen, founder of Avance Gas, told Maritime CEO this month that the company is keen to grow.
Avance has actively looked for mergers and acquisitions, but has not found the right candidate to date, he said.
”We have not done anything since we took over two ships from Angelicoussis a couple of years ago and we have a less active approaching policy right now. We are however very interested in building up the size of the company, so if anyone wants to talk to us, they are welcome,” Andersen said in the interview.