International Seaways seals $370m Bruton takeover deal

New York-listed tanker owner International Seaways has struck a deal to take over Tor Olav Trøim-backed Bruton in a transaction valuing the Oslo-listed VLCC company at around $370m.

The agreement, announced on Friday, will see the Lois Zabrocky-led group acquire Bruton’s entire four-ship supertanker portfolio, going considerably further than the sale of two newbuildings first linked to the US owner in market reports last week.

International Seaways has secured agreements with shareholders representing 50.5% of Bruton, including Trøim’s Drew Holdings and Koch Inc, to exchange their holdings for newly issued shares in the US company.

The exchange is set at 0.0519 International Seaways shares for each Bruton share, with the initial transaction expected to settle around October 20. The remaining shares will be acquired through a merger, with Seaways expecting to issue approximately 3.12m new shares, accounting for 96% of the total consideration. Smaller Bruton shareholders will receive cash at $6.3044 per share.

The deal brings four 300,000 dwt VLCCs into the Seaways fold, including the LNG dual-fuel Mount Vision, which entered service in July, and sistership Mount Horizon, scheduled for delivery from China’s New Times Shipbuilding next month. The remaining two vessels, Mount Frontier and Mount Summit, are due in August and October 2027.

The first two ships already have substantial charter cover. Mount Vision secured a 3+1+1-year arrangement with a trading house, earning $95,000 per day for the initial nine months before switching to an index-linked structure. Mount Horizon has been fixed for 12 to 15 months at $105,700 per day.

The two 2027 newbuildings remain unchartered and have been at the centre of the recent sale speculation.

Splash detailed the potential deal last week after Bruton acknowledged market rumours and launched a strategic review. At the time, International Seaways was linked to the purchase of at least two newbuildings, with brokers discussing values north of $200m per vessel.

Bruton’s own figures put the original yard cost of the two 2027 ships at about $117m apiece, highlighting how sharply modern VLCC asset values have moved. The $370m announced on Friday, however, represents the valuation of Bruton’s equity rather than the gross value of its vessels.

The takeover follows a major restructuring of Trøim’s tanker interests. Bruton originally built up a 12-ship VLCC programme before splitting the business in August, retaining its first four New Times ships and transferring another eight newbuildings into separately listed OMC Tankers.

The demerger left Bruton with a concentrated fleet of near-term deliveries, substantial charter cover and financing arrangements with Chinese lessors covering 85% to 90% of construction costs. The eight vessels in OMC Tankers are not part of the International Seaways transaction.

For International Seaways, the acquisition continues an aggressive fleet renewal programme that has seen the company dispose of older tonnage while selectively investing in younger ships.

The US owner had a fleet of around 70 vessels, including newbuildings, before the deal. It sold seven older tankers, including two VLCCs, earlier this year for more than $216m and has also invested in LR1 newbuildings at South Korea’s K Shipbuilding. The company strengthened its crude tanker trading platform in January by taking full ownership of Tankers International, which subsequently expanded into the suezmax market.

The latest acquisition comes against an exceptionally strong earnings backdrop. Alongside the takeover announcement, International Seaways unveiled preliminary third-quarter net income of $340m to $350m, including a roughly $50m gain from the sale of a suezmax. It reported liquidity of approximately $965m at the end of September.

The transaction also brings together businesses associated with two familiar names in Norwegian shipping. Family trusts established by John Fredriksen, Trøim’s former longtime business partner, hold a 13.54% stake in International Seaways, according to the latest US regulatory filing. The pair went their separate ways in 2014 after nearly two decades working together.

Bruton’s board has unanimously recommended the transaction, with a shareholder vote expected around October 30. Completion is targeted for early November, subject to the necessary approvals, after which Bruton intends to delist from Euronext Growth Oslo.

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