Gunvor's managers buy out Tornqvist's CEO as the company seeks to 'definitive re-set'

Torbjorn Tornqvist, the CEO of global commodity trading firm Gunvor, will sell his entire shareholding as part of a management buyout. This comes after the U.S. labeled the company the "Kremlin’s puppet" because it had previously been linked to Russia.

Gary Pedersen, the Americas director who was hired just last year by the firm, will take on the role of CEO.

Gunvor stated in a press release that the buyout was being advanced to create a path for a company whose misperceptions of its past had become an unavoidable distraction.

This was a reference last month when the U.S. Treasury called Gunvor "the Kremlin's Puppet" and sank what would have become Gunvor's largest ever deal, to acquire the international assets of Russian oil giant Lukoil sanctioned by the U.S.

SWITCHING AT THE HELM INDICATES END OF A ERA

In a deal worth millions of dollars, Tornqvist has ended his 25 years of leadership at Gunvor in Switzerland.

According to the results of the group, Tornqvist had a shareholding of 84.79% by the end of 2024 when the company's equity value was $6.5 billion.

Gunvor stated that Tornqvist had already stepped down from his position as CEO, and would leave the board of the company when the transaction closes.

Gunvor didn't specify the value of Tornqvist shares or provide a timeline for the deal. It said that the original concept was conceived in the year 2022.

TORNQVIST CO-FOUNDED COMPANY 2000

"I am ready, and so is the company. We have been working on this for some time." "For a trading company of Gunvor's scale and complexity, an inclusive, broad-based partnership is the best model," Tornqvist stated.

Tornqvist founded Gunvor with Gennadiy Tichenko in 2000. The company grew to become the largest Russian oil trader in the 2000s. It then expanded into new geographies.

Gunvor is already present in the U.S. and has expanded its business into the gas and power market in recent years. This follows a trend where top trading houses are allocating their record profits to expand in new geographies and commodities markets.

Pedersen’s promotion coincides Gunvor’s efforts to improve its relations with the United States. The firm has been in active discussions to invest in U.S. assets producing oil and gas in the last few weeks. Reporting by Robert Harvey, London Editing Bernadettebaum

(source: Reuters)