Shipping tycoon John Fredriksen has shown his appetite for a distressed deal expands beyond the maritime and offshore space.
Fredriksen has today backed-stopped a $350m rights offering by Norwegian Air Shuttle in a move that sees the billionaire renew ties with one of his former executives.
Geir Karlsen, the airline's chief financial officer, spent half a decade in the same role at Fredriksen’s Golden Ocean and was also a senior finance figure at Frontline.
"The Fredriksen system is very strong, and we are very pleased to have it as part of the guarantee consortium," Norwegian chief executive Bjorn Kjos told TradeWinds’ sister publication DN.
“I’ve known John Fredriksen for a long time, and we even have a CFO who has worked for Fredriksen,” Kjos told reporters in Oslo, according to Bloomberg.
Bloomberg reported cash from the offering should provide the budget carrier with enough funds to tide it over the winter and prevent a breach of debt covenants.
The Bloomberg Billionaires Index today places Fredriksen’s wealth at $7.95bn.
The magnate is the leading investor in five public shipping companies: Frontline, Golden Ocean, Flex LNG, Ship Finance International and Avance Gas. He also controls a vast private fleet via Seatankers.
Fredriksen told TradeWinds in December a larger part of his investments are now placed in assets outside shipping and offshore.
He revealed $3bn of his fortune is placed with Lone Star Funds, which was set up in the US 23 years ago.
Since its start up, Lone Star has established 17 funds with a total capital of more than $70bn.
