Tufton Oceanic has unveiled a corporate reorganisation, which will see the business split in two.
Tufton Investment Management (Tufton) will be led by Andrew Hampson as CEO and encompass the existing asset backed investment business. Oceanic Investment Management (OIM), meanwhile, will be led by Cato Brahde and Jonas Andreasson and will encompass the existing public markets investment activities and TRACS real time shipping tracking platform. Each business will have separate ownership, independent boards, management and staff.
As part of the structural change, Tufton has also concluded a reorganisation of its ownership, with a new unnamed financial partner acquiring the shares of a number of Tufton’s long standing financial shareholders. The transaction has enabled the Tufton management team to acquire a substantially increased stake in the business. UK-based Tufton manages $1.1bn in shipping assets across a number of funds.
Subject to the required regulatory approvals, OIM will be acquired by its management team and will continue to manage the Oceanic Hedge Fund.
Cato Brahde, CIO of OIM, said, “The shipping sector has been challenged since the financial crisis due to a significant oversupply of tonnage. The current recovery in the sector – together with the coming energy transition – provide very exciting investment opportunities where we believe our long experience in the shipping, new energy and oil and gas industries will be invaluable.”
Tufton founder Ted Kalborg said, “Tufton is in excellent hands and with its reorganised shareholding structure is ready to take advantage of the many new growth opportunities we see in the global shipping industry. I am also very pleased that the firm’s new shareholder has requested I remain involved in the business for at least the next few years.”
