Chinese Investor Tong Boosts Stake In Seadrill To 5.2%

(RTTNews) - Chinese Investor Tong Jinquan has boosted his stake in offshore drilling contractor Seadrill Ltd. (SDRL), with the raised stake catapulting him to be a beneficiary owner of about 5.2 percent of the company.

Seadrill is majority held by Norwegian oil tycoon John Fredriksen, who had increased his stake in the company to 23.9 percent in early December. Further, another 23.9 percent of total share outstanding is held by Hemen Holdings Ltd., a Cyprus-based investment holding company founded by Fredriksen.

Oilfield services stocks have been adversely impacted by the plunge in crude oil prices, which has resulted in dividend suspensions and cuts, impairment charges, and consolidation through mergers and takeovers. Crude oil prices have steadied near $53 after collapsing to six-year-lows around $44 in January.

Seadrill's stock also lost more than 40 percent of its value since late November, when the company terminated its dividends in order to improve its balance sheet. The stock has plunged 70 percent since June 2014, when crude oil prices had peaked.

In a disclosure to the Oslo Stock Exchange, Seadrill revealed that Tong increased his stake in the company through share purchases by Wealthy Fountain Holdings, Inc., Skyline Horizon Consortium Ltd. and Starray Global Ltd., which are all 100 percent owned by Shanghai Summit Pte. Ltd. , which is 100 percent owned by Tong.

Hamilton, Bermuda-based Seadrill said Tong currently holds a total interest of 25.62 million shares as the beneficiary owner, being about 5.20 percent of the issued share capital of the company.

On the NYSE, SeaDrill closed Monday's trading at $14.34, up 1.08 or 8.14% on a volume of 22.23 million shares. The shares also closed in Oslo at 100 Norwegian Kroner, up 4.70 kroner or 4.93% on a volume of 3.77 million shares.