Huge US investment fund BlackRock has revealed it has increased its stake in Finnish shipping technology group Wartsila to a fraction above 5%.
The stake is worth €278m ($312m) based on a market capitalisation of €5.55bn in Helsinki.
BlackRock’s 5.01% holding meant a disclosure had to be made to the Nasdaq exchange in the Finnish capital.
BlackRock is the world’s biggest investment manager with around $10trn of assets under its control.
Wartsila is at the forefront of developing engines for future fuels, as well as scrubbers and smart technology for ship systems.
In April 2020, BlackRock’s stake also hit 5% but had since dipped below this level.
In April 2018, the US fund had nearly 8.5% of Wartsila.
BlackRock is no stranger to shipping investments.
In November, the fund strengthened its position as one of UK shipbroker Clarksons’ biggest shareholders.
According to a regulatory filing, the New York-based company increased its stake to 5.38% in the London-listed group.
The holding was worth £59m ($79m) at that time.
Ardmore Shipping holding cut back
In July last year, BlackRock significantly reduced its stake in Irish product tanker owner Ardmore Shipping.
The company sold nearly 1.7m shares, according to regulatory filings, whittling down its position from 2.2m shares to 495,717.
According to Ardmore’s annual report, BlackRock was the company’s second-largest shareholder, with 6.6% of all shares and behind Aristotle Capital Boston’s 3.6m shares.
And the fund partnered Greek LNG carrier owner GasLog to take the company private in 2021.
The Peter Livanos-backed shipping company closed a deal with BlackRock’s Global Energy & Power Infrastructure Fund that saw GasLog delisted in New York.
