Klaveness Combination Carriers' largest shareholder has sold an 11% block in the Oslo-listed shipowner for approximately NOK619m ($66.5m), dropping below majority ownership while retaining a sizeable controlling position.

Torvald Klaveness sold 6.54m KCC shares at NOK94.70 each through an accelerated private placement completed on Wednesday night.

The sale ended up slightly larger than first planned. The shareholder had initially signalled an intention to place around 10% of KCC's outstanding stock, but ultimately sold approximately 11%.

The fixed offer price represented a discount of roughly 10% to KCC's NOK105.20 closing price ahead of the placement. Before the transaction was launched, the shares had risen about 33% since the start of the year.

Following the sale, Torvald Klaveness holds 26m KCC shares, equal to 43.69% of the company, down from 54.68%. The move takes the shareholder through the 50% disclosure threshold — crossing such ownership levels triggers mandatory flagging notifications on Oslo's regulated market — but it still retains what it described as at least "negative control" — a stake large enough to block corporate decisions requiring a two-thirds majority. The remaining holding has been locked up for 90 days.

Torvald Klaveness said it remains committed to being KCC's leading long-term shareholder and described the sale as a move to increase trading liquidity and free float while rebalancing investments across the wider Klaveness group. A larger free float — the share of stock available to trade rather than held by strategic owners — typically makes it easier for institutional investors to build positions and can support index eligibility over time.

Analysts at SEB said the transaction should not necessarily be read as a weakening of the shareholder's conviction in KCC. The bank noted that the NOK94.70 price was set in advance to secure execution rather than emerging as a weak clearing price, and that demand was sufficient to place around 11% of the company instead of the roughly 10% originally contemplated.

SEB added that the 90-day lock-up limits the near-term risk of another block hitting the market, while the larger free float should improve liquidity. The bank views the deal primarily as a liquidity-enhancing transaction rather than a confidence signal.

The placement comes shortly after KCC completed a major fleet expansion. Delivery of its third new-generation Cabu in August took the operating fleet to 19 ships — 11 Cabus and eight Cleanbus. KCC's business model is built around combination carriers, vessels designed to alternate between dry bulk and tanker cargoes, which the company has positioned as a way to reduce ballast legs and improve utilisation across both markets. The three-ship programme traces back to 2023, when Splash reported that KCC ordered the vessels at Yangzijiang for $56.4m apiece and raised $50m in equity to help finance the investment. Torvald Klaveness committed at the time to maintaining its then 53.76% pro-rata holding in the capital raise.

KCC has also benefited from firmer tanker and dry bulk markets this year. Second-quarter EBITDA jumped 31% sequentially to $38.5m, with profit after tax at $20.8m and fleetwide TCE earnings averaging $37,782 per day. The company declared a $0.30-per-share dividend for the quarter.

In March, KCC also moved to lock in some of the strength in product tankers, fixing one of its Cleanbus for two years to a global energy player while keeping the remaining ships in its core combination trades. The 90-day lock-up on Torvald Klaveness's remaining stake means the next signal on its intentions toward KCC is likely to come once that restriction expires, while the enlarged free float will be tested as new shareholders begin trading the stock.