Tanker giant Frontline is continuing to be a draw for big-name investors as Morgan Stanley became its second-biggest shareholder. A filing to the Oslo Stock Exchange reveals the Delaware investment bank has acquired a 5.25% stake in the John Fredriksen-controlled company in recent weeks, passing the threshold for notification of ownership. The holding is worth $166m, based on the market cap of $3.16bn. The share closed at $13.83 in New York on Wednesday, up nearly 7%. So far this year, the stock has put on 83%.

A US filing from 14 November shows Morgan Stanley had built a holding of 1.34m shares, worth $14.6m at that time. This followed a move in October that brought its stake to 1.18m shares. Frontline has worked with Morgan Stanley as an agent for share offerings in the past. The investment bank is a co-owner of LNG carrier company Hoegh LNG.

Frontline’s net profit for the third quarter was $154.4m, compared to a loss of $33.2m in the same period of 2021. Revenue grew to $382.2m from $172m. The tanker owner, listed in both New York and Oslo, is currently trying to tie up a big combination with Belgian partner Euronav. On Wednesday, Frontline said it was delaying a likely $66m dividend for the third quarter until after it completes a takeover offer for the Belgian company in the first three months of 2023. A prominent seller of Frontline stock in recent weeks has been Swiss bank UBS, which offloaded 810,000 shares on 8 November. That deal was worth around $11m. The lender retained 10.41m shares, or a slice of 4.63%.

The stock has been a big draw for major investors lately. US investment giant BlackRock announced a big holding last month. The move followed a similar investment in Fredriksen’s bulker giant Golden Ocean Group in September. BlackRock said it had amassed a stake of 5.13% — a slice worth $153m. But the fund later issued a correction, saying that “following identification of correct issued shares, holding remains below 5% in aggregate”. The exact ownership is therefore unknown.

Goldman Sachs also holds about 5% of the tanker owner after share deals in recent months, most likely on behalf of other investors.

Fredriksen himself controls about 36% of Frontline.