Ownership changes in the Kristian Gerhard Jebsen group

The family’s shipping interests are concentrated primarily in Kristian Gerhard Jebsen Skipsrederi AS (KGJS) and Gearbulk Holding Limited (Gearbulk). In addition to ship management, KGJS handles activities in the OBO/tanker and cement carrier segments. Gearbulk’s fleet transports unitised cargoes such as forest products and aluminium. These operations have achieved strong growth in recent years, and each are global leaders in their respective areas.
Kristian Jebsen was President of Gearbulk (UK) Limited from 1993 to 2006, and has been Chairman of Gearbulk Holding Limited since 2006. In keeping with these positions, his principal interest and attention has been concentrated on developing this business. At the same time, Hans Peter Jebsen, as Chairman of the KGJ group and of KGJS, has devoted his attention to the development of the various shipping operations, particularly within KGJS. He has also focused on the development of the group’s non-shipping assets.
To reflect the interest and focus of the Jebsen brothers over time, the ownership of the various businesses will now be restructured. Kristian Jebsen will therefore be taking over the family’s shares in Gearbulk, while Hans Peter Jebsen will take control of the family’s shares in KGJS and the KGJ group including non-shipping assets.
Gearbulk was established in 1968 by Kristian Gerhard Jebsen, and has developed into the world’s leading open-hatch shipping company. Gearbulk has commercial management of 77 vessels, of which 63 are owned by the company. In addition the company has a newbuilding programme of 19 ships. MOL (Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd) of Tokyo has been a shareholder since 1991 and owns 49 per cent of the company.
KGJS was established in 1967 by Kristian Gerhard Jebsen, and today ranks as the world’s leading operator of oil-bulk-ore (OBO) and cement carriers. KGJS also owns and operates large product carriers and crude oil tankers. The fleet consists of 52 vessels, with a newbuilding programme for a further 9 ships.
Changes to the ship management organisation Until now, KGJS has provided ship management for all the group’s shipping segments. As part of the further development of Gearbulk the company wishes to control its own ship management activity. As a consequence of the ownership changes this should take place now. Plans therefore call for part of the ship management business to be transferred from KGJS to a new company owned by Gearbulk.
Almost 70 members of the KGJS ship management organisation, of whom about 40 are located in Bergen, have worked primarily for Gearbulk. These staff will be transferred to the new company and will remain in Bergen. The balance work at various offices worldwide, with Bangalore and Singapore as the largest locations.
The registration of the vessels and their crewing will not be affected by the changes being made to the ownership structure and ship management organisation. Existing crewing agreements will continue.
The close collaboration between KGJS and Gearbulk will continue in important areas such as information and communication technology (ICT), insurance and certain technical services.