Overview
- Founder Torbjörn Törnqvist is selling his 86% stake to roughly 60 employees in a deal funded by partner equity and a vendor loan repayable over up to 10 years.
- New CEO Gary Pedersen says operations are steady, with core banks and counterparties supportive, and the headquarters staying in Geneva.
- The overhaul follows the U.S. Treasury’s denunciation of Gunvor as the “Kremlin’s puppet,” which prompted the firm to drop its $22 billion bid for Lukoil’s international assets.
- Gunvor is exploring additional U.S. oil and gas investments with a focus on natural gas and recently backstopped Percussion Petroleum’s unsuccessful bid for Baytex’s Eagle Ford assets.
- The trader says its U.S. portfolio exceeds $4 billion in enterprise value and presents the governance revamp as limiting any dominant shareholder and excluding the Törnqvist family from roles.