Tor Olav Trøim

"For a quarter billion Swedish kronor, Fredriksen's company Hemen Holding already owned 28 percent of the Frontline shares when they bid for the rest. The paralyzed Swedish management realized their fate: – We see that John Fredriksen has been successful, and in that sense we are positive that he will engage, said Frontline's CEO Kjell Jonson to the press. So it should sound! Jonson was rewarded with continuing in the CEO position. It was worse with Frontline's chairman, Sven H. Salen. Just a month later, Fredriksen took his private jet to Stockholm to throw the old leader out of the board. Then he took over the chairman position himself and brought along Tor Olav Trøim to the board. Thus, 20 percent of the entire Swedish tanker fleet disappeared out of the country."

"The old feuds with former drinking buddies and friends were history, a new court was in place. At the forefront was none other than Little Wolf, Tor Olav Trøim, who was never far away. Just as loyal, and apparently always in the shipowner's favor, was Nordea's Calle Steen, the man who had conjured up a loan of one and a half billion during the banking crisis ten years earlier. Among brokers, many would like to be in the inner circle of the court, but undoubtedly, one finds the brokerage firm Platou there. They were the world's leading ship brokerage firm in the early 70s along with British Clarkson but fell to mediocrity in Norway. The contact with Fredriksen brought the firm back towards old heights and record results, thanks to the socially intelligent chief Peter Anker and the experienced broker Wilhelm Holst. In stocks, Fearnley and their Harald Moræus Hansen are never far away. They have been good at finding undervalued shipping stocks worldwide, especially in Asia. With the great interest in offshore, eventually Pareto entered the innermost circle, their Stein Schie being for many years John Fredriksen's court broker on the offshore sector when he worked at the company Normarine Offshore, and he brought the client into Pareto. Fredriksen still has some of his old friends, such as Petter Olsen and Petter Thorendal. But with limited time in Norway, it can only be sporadic contact; business and family take all the time. And after all, it has been twenty-five years since he moved from the country. Both geographical distance and tens of billions in economic distance tend to create distance."

"In the winter of 2000, a new opportunity arose to acquire a shipping company in serious trouble, the Canadian company misleadingly named Golden Ocean. It had sailed from a golden sea to a sea of defaulted loans, and on January 14, 2000, they threw in the towel and asked the United States bankruptcy court in Delaware for protection from creditors. Thus, the wrecked shipping company was given 135 days to sort out its enormous debt. And as is usual in such situations, the bleeding victim immediately attracted the attention of the financial sharks. Fredriksen had been following Golden Ocean for a long time because he considered it a candidate for acquisition. Bergesen also followed the death struggle with interest, but what John Fredriksen didn't know was that the shipping management at Bergehus was loaded with billions, ready to buy the Frontline fleet at a bargain if the company went under. The danger was not yet over, according to Bergesen, and therefore, they chose to let Golden Ocean pass without making a bid. But John Fredriksen was not alone in setting his sights on Golden Ocean. Again, he faced competition from a small firm that specialized in buying debt to leverage such situations. This time it was little Bentley International. The first clash in the battle between Fredriksen and Bentley came in March 2000. Then, Fredriksen bought one-sixth of Golden Ocean's debt, amounting to just over three billion kroner. The price tag was only 40 million kroner, but the status as a creditor gave the Norwegian shipowner a say in the fate of Golden Ocean, which controlled 17 large tankers (VLCC) and a fleet of 11 modern bulk carriers. The battle for Golden Ocean was tailor-made for Tor Olav Trøim and Tom Jebsen. This was their home ground, unlike usual shipping deals where the two shipowners on each side are the main men. Because when Golden Ocean went to bankruptcy court, the owners lost their power. Now, it was a multi-headed troll of creditors and lenders on Wall Street who decided the fate of the shipping company. For Trøim, this meant a series of meetings with bankers in New York. The effort was crowned with success at the end of May, when Trøim managed to persuade the other creditors to approve a plan to save the shipping company. Frontline was willing to enter with 33 million dollars in cash – or Frontline shares for 48 million dollars – to take over. At the same time, Frontline bought the VLCC "Tina" for 74 million dollars from Golden Ocean, thus gaining steering speed through the heavy seas. As a financial maneuver, Golden Ocean was by the book. Frontline issued three million new shares, and placed them with new owners through Fearnley Fonds and Enskilda. This way, the shipping company brought in the 33 million dollars that the deal cost. Among the new major owners was Fidelity – the world's leading asset management company. It would be the beginning of an adventure for both parties and meant a breakthrough for Trøim's work to make shipping palatable to the financial environment in New York."

"In the winter of 2000, a new opportunity arose to acquire a shipping company in serious trouble, the Canadian company misleadingly named Golden Ocean. It had sailed from a golden sea to a sea of defaulted loans, and on January 14, 2000, they threw in the towel and asked the United States bankruptcy court in Delaware for protection from creditors. Thus, the wrecked shipping company was given 135 days to sort out its enormous debt. And as is usual in such situations, the bleeding victim immediately attracted the attention of the financial sharks. Fredriksen had been following Golden Ocean for a long time because he considered it a candidate for acquisition. Bergesen also followed the death struggle with interest, but what John Fredriksen didn't know was that the shipping management at Bergehus was loaded with billions, ready to buy the Frontline fleet at a bargain if the company went under. The danger was not yet over, according to Bergesen, and therefore, they chose to let Golden Ocean pass without making a bid. But John Fredriksen was not alone in setting his sights on Golden Ocean. Again, he faced competition from a small firm that specialized in buying debt to leverage such situations. This time it was little Bentley International. The first clash in the battle between Fredriksen and Bentley came in March 2000. Then, Fredriksen bought one-sixth of Golden Ocean's debt, amounting to just over three billion kroner. The price tag was only 40 million kroner, but the status as a creditor gave the Norwegian shipowner a say in the fate of Golden Ocean, which controlled 17 large tankers (VLCC) and a fleet of 11 modern bulk carriers. The battle for Golden Ocean was tailor-made for Tor Olav Trøim and Tom Jebsen. This was their home ground, unlike usual shipping deals where the two shipowners on each side are the main men. Because when Golden Ocean went to bankruptcy court, the owners lost their power. Now, it was a multi-headed troll of creditors and lenders on Wall Street who decided the fate of the shipping company. For Trøim, this meant a series of meetings with bankers in New York. The effort was crowned with success at the end of May, when Trøim managed to persuade the other creditors to approve a plan to save the shipping company. Frontline was willing to enter with 33 million dollars in cash – or Frontline shares for 48 million dollars – to take over. At the same time, Frontline bought the VLCC "Tina" for 74 million dollars from Golden Ocean, thus gaining steering speed through the heavy seas. As a financial maneuver, Golden Ocean was by the book. Frontline issued three million new shares, and placed them with new owners through Fearnley Fonds and Enskilda. This way, the shipping company brought in the 33 million dollars that the deal cost. Among the new major owners was Fidelity – the world's leading asset management company. It would be the beginning of an adventure for both parties and meant a breakthrough for Trøim's work to make shipping palatable to the financial environment in New York."

"Trøim is unstoppable, John Fredriksen has given him the nickname D8, after the legendary Caterpillar bulldozer that came on the market around the time Fredriksen was born. Others have given him the nickname "Troiminator." One should not stand in the way of Tor Olav Trøim."

"This is how Fredriksen entered into Active Capital. He was willing to guarantee for the money Active Capital borrowed from the bank, and charged handsomely with one percent interest per month. Moreover, he secured the right to buy some shares. Eventually, there were more and more shares in Fredriksen’s hands. Fredriksen paid up, well encouraged by Tor Olav Trøim, Spetalen's best friend. It was to be a golden moment, which probably wouldn't have happened had Fredriksen not attended a football match one autumn evening in 1996."

"But John Fredriksen had been out on a December evening before. He simply asked Tor Olav Trøim to secure a table for the party. Trøim made the rounds in the bar with a proposal. Those who were kind enough to leave could leave the bill. It would be taken care of. It took just a couple of minutes to clear space for the entire party, which certainly needed a refill of refreshments."

"Tor Olav Trøim"

"They headed for the bar in the reception at Hotel Continental, where it was just as crowded. But John Fredriksen had been out on a December evening before. He simply asked Tor Olav Trøim to secure a table for the party. Trøim made the rounds in the bar with a proposal. Those who were kind enough to leave could leave the bill. It would be taken care of. It took just a couple of minutes to clear space for the entire party, which certainly needed a refill of refreshments."

"When a Fredriksen company raises a billion in new equity, there’s still 30-40 million left in the brokerage firm, no matter how good a negotiator Tor Olav Trøim is. Additional commissions come from regular stock trading, where Frontline is one of the most traded stocks on the exchange every day."