Shipping's image among Wall Street investors has long been clouded by concerns over related-party deals and potential conflicts of interest. Scorpio Bulkers' purchase of Scorpio Tankers' stock is the latest in a long line of industry transactions to raise eyebrows. On 10 October, NYSE-listed Scorpio Tankers priced a public offering of 162.2 million common shares at USD1.85/share, a 12% discount to the previous close. Of total gross proceeds of USD300 million, public investors bought USD190 million (63.3%), NYSE-listed Scorpio Bulkers bought USD100 million (33.3%), and Scorpio Services Holding (SSH) bought USD10 million (3.3%). SSH is majority-owned by the Lolli-Ghetti family and minority-owned by Lolli-Ghetti family member Emanuele Lauro and Scorpio executives, including Robert Bugbee. Scorpio Bulkers has overlapping top management with Scorpio Tankers. In both cases, Bugbee serves as president, Lauro as chief executive officer (CEO), and Cameron Mackay as chief operating officer. But their shareholding bases are different. According to their latest annual filings, Scorpio Tankers' largest shareholders are FMR LLC and Dimensional Fund Advisors, while the largest holders of Scorpio Bulkers' stock are SSH, GRM Investments, and Evermore Global Advisors.
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