Brookfield has assumed indirect control of a 19.86% stake in Danish product tanker owner Torm following the Canadian investment group's full acquisition of Oaktree, bringing one of the world's largest alternative asset managers — with over $1 trillion in assets under management across infrastructure, real estate, and credit — into the product tanker sector through a corporate acquisition rather than a direct shipping investment.

Torm stated that Oaktree no longer held any shares or voting rights in the company, directly or indirectly, as of the end of July. Brookfield Corporation has become the ultimate controlling shareholder of OCM Njord Holdings, the Luxembourg-based vehicle that holds the Torm stake.

Njord's direct position remains unchanged at 20.33 million class A shares, representing 19.86% of Torm's share capital and voting rights. The ownership change therefore occurred above Njord rather than through any new purchase of Torm shares.

The shift follows Brookfield's completion of an approximately $3 billion deal for the remaining 26% of Oaktree that it did not already own. Brookfield initially acquired a controlling 62% interest in the US credit manager for roughly $4.8 billion in 2019. Oaktree, co-founded by billionaire investor Howard Marks, had built its Torm position over years as one of the most prominent private credit investors in shipping.

Ahead of the takeover, Oaktree had been steadily reducing its long-held position in Torm. In March, the Oaktree-linked Njord vehicle held 23.8 million shares, equivalent to 23.39% of the tanker owner, before filing in June to sell an additional 3.5 million shares valued at approximately $103.2 million through Morgan Stanley.

That selldown followed Hafnia's purchase of 14.2 million Torm shares from Oaktree for $311.4 million. The $22-per-share transaction, completed in December, gave the BW Group-backed product tanker owner a 14.45% position in its Danish rival. The cross-shareholding between two of the largest publicly listed product tanker owners reflected a broader wave of consolidation and portfolio reshuffling across the sector as owners positioned for cyclical fleet renewal.

Oaktree's reduction below the one-third ownership threshold also triggered a governance change at Torm earlier this year, eliminating the position and authority of the company's B-director.

The shareholder transition comes during a broader expansion phase for Torm, one of the largest owners of MR and LR product tankers globally. The Copenhagen- and New York-listed owner has arranged for eight additional product tankers through resale and secondhand acquisitions, bringing the fleet to 103 vessels once all deliveries are finalized.

Torm has also been linked to a potential order at China's Zhoushan Changhong International Shipyard for six firm 50,000 dwt MR newbuildings plus two options. The vessels are reported at approximately $46 million each, valuing the firm portion at $276 million and the full potential deal at $368 million. Neither Torm nor the shipyard has confirmed the order.