The offshore and marine group has bought back shares for the first time since it was renamed. On Jun 12, the company paid S$0.124 apiece for 1,200,000 shares. This came up to a total consideration of S$148,980.79.

 

Seatrium : S51 +2.34% was created from the merger of Sembcorp Marine (Sembmarine), and Keppel Offshore and Marine (KOM). It was renamed with effect from Apr 26, following an annual general meeting at which a resolution for its renaming was passed by shareholders.

 

The group has a large share base of 68.2 billion shares following the merger, and has only bought back 0.018 per cent of its allowed mandate according to data from Lim & Tan Securities.

 

The buyback came a few days after Keppel Corp : BN4 -0.43% sold 42 million Seatrium shares for S$5.16 million, on Jun 5.

 

Keppel&rsquo s interest in Seatrium now stands at 3.37 per cent. As a result of the Keppel sale, Temasek&rsquo s deemed interest in Seatrium dropped to 38.99 per cent from 39.05 per cent.

 

Keppel had received 36.8 billion shares in Sembmarine in exchange for KOM. The bulk of these shares was distributed to Keppel shareholders, but Keppel had retained 3.4 billion shares. These retained shares represented about 5 per cent of Sembmarine&rsquo s enlarged share capital.

 

The retained shares were for &ldquo contingent liabilities&rdquo , and Keppel has been gradually selling them. Keppel sold six million Seatrium shares on May 2, for S$735,952.80.

 

Shares of Seatrium are down 6.4 per cent this year, closing at S$0.13 on Friday (Jun 16). Since assuming its new identity, the company has had a rocky start.

 

It announced, on May 5, that it had been awarded a contract worth more than S$500 million to build two offshore wind farm substations. Construction for one of the substations will commence in the fourth quarter of this year, and work on the other will commence in the second half of next year.

 

These additional contracts will add to Seatrium&rsquo s green order book, as the company continues to diversify from its traditional business serving the oil and gas industry.

 

Earlier this month, however, investors were reminded that Seatrium&rsquo s change in identity will not preclude it from having to deal with its past.

 

On May 31, the Singapore&rsquo s Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) said it has commenced investigations on the company and individuals from the company. The investigations are related to alleged corrupt offences that occurred in Brazil, where Seatrium has shipyards.

 

In response to queries from Singapore Exchange Regulation, Seatrium said CPIB has not provided the company with the identity of the individuals who are being investigated. &ldquo As far as the company is aware, investigations are ongoing, and no formal charges have been made against any of the key executives of the company,&rdquo Seatrium added.