Chinese property tycoon increases Seadrill stake

Tong Jinquan, a Chinese billionaire, has increased its stake in Seadrill, an Oslo-listed offshore drilling contractor.

According to Seadrill, which owns a large fleet of offshore drilling rigs, Wealthy Fountain Holdings Inc, owned by Jinquan, has on July 14, 2015 acquired 1,900,000 shares in Seadrill Limited at a price of $9.68.

After this $18.4 million transaction, Wealthy Fountain Holdings Inc’s ownership in Seadrill reaches 26,295,051 shares, being approximately 5.333% of the issued share capital.

Described as a self-made property tycoon, Tong Jinquan, whose net worth has been estimated at $4.7 Billion by Forbes, now owns a total of 7.187% of the issued share capital of the company.

As Seadrill explains, as of July 14, 2015,  Skyline Horizon Consortium Ltd held an interest of 1,311,028 shares, being approximately 0.266% of the issued share capital of the company; Starray Global Limited held an interest of 515,824 shares, being approximately 0.105%; and Tong Jinquan himself held an interest of 7,315,386 shares,  being approximately 1.484%.

The companies mentioned above, Wealthy Fountain Holdings Inc, Skyline Horizon Consortium Ltd and Starray Global Limited are all 100% owned by Shanghai Summit Pte. Ltd., which is 100% owned by Jinquan.

Here is a brief, but rather interesting, Jinquan biography as shared by Forbes:

“Tong Jinquan chairs real estate developer Summit, which owns commercial property in Shanghai and has more than $1 billion invested in a commercial complex in Chengdu. Tong also has stakes in three Singapore real estate investment trusts: Viva Industrial, Cambridge International and Suntec. Tong is the seventh of 9 children whose parents ran a grocery store. Tong quit school after fifth grade, started making baskets and later raised bees and sold honey. He eventually moved into the sporting goods equipment business before making his fortune in real estate.”

Offshore Energy Today Staff