John Fredriksen’s twin daughters will not relinquish control of the powerful Fredriksen group.
On Thursday, the shipping newspaper Tradewinds published an interview with John Fredriksen, the largest shareholder in Mowi, stating that he wanted to retire – leaving the management of the companies in the Fredriksen group to other than his two daughters Kathrine and Cecilie.
“My daughters should not have to live with the work everyday I’ve had,” he told the newspaper.
The daughters, however, pointed out that it was only the shipping and offshore portion of the business that the father stated, and that the media angle that the daughters would not take over the empire is highly misleading.
Less important
“It is true that we do not have or will have a role in connection with the family’s ownership interests in shipping and offshore operations. But, this is part of the family’s overall portfolio that is of increasingly minor importance,” wrote Kathrine Fredriksen in an email to Dagens Næringsliv on Friday.
“In recent years, we have been working to diversify the portfolio and develop the organization in Seatankers Management, which is the main company in the family structure. Today, shipping and offshore operations account for 20 per cent of the family’s total activities. The other 80 per cent is related to real estate, seafood and financial investments, and it is in these sectors that we work as active owners,” she continued.
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Focuses
Her sister, Cecilie Fredriksen, is a board member of Mowi, which is by far the largest and most valuable asset in the Fredriksen group. Cecilie Fredriksen has previously stated that Marine Harvest (later renamed Mowi) is the single most important investment in the group.
“This is a planned and deliberate development to spread the risk in the family company and create the basis for sustainable management of family values. We will continue to be involved in the development of shipping and offshore in the future, but to a much lesser extent than Dad. This is mainly his responsibility, while we focus on the other activities. The rumours of our phasing-out are thus considerably exaggerated – in fact, it is completely wrong,” wrote Kathrine Fredriksen.
