Notification of managers’ and closely related parties’ transactions with Dampskibsselskabet NORDEN A/S’ shares in connection with share buy-back program

A/S Motortramp is continuously selling shares pro rata under Dampskibsselskabet NORDEN A/S's announced share buy-back program (Announcement No. 84, referencing announcements 30/2026 and 32/2026). No quantities, percentages or price ranges were disclosed in this notice; the company directed the market to an attached file for details. This is a routine implementation update of a buyback program and, absent material size disclosure, is unlikely to move the stock materially.

Analysis

A programmatic buyback executed against simultaneous insider or affiliate sell-downs creates a near-term technical loop rather than a clean capital-allocation signal: net daily supply/demand will be dominated by the relative pace of the two flows, so expect asymmetric intraday price support around repurchase executions but muted cumulative EPS accretion unless buy volumes persist beyond affiliate sales. Borrow and repo dynamics are the fastest second-order lever — visible reductions in available free float will lift borrow fees and compress visible short interest, which can amplify intraday squeezes but also reduce liquidity and widen intraday spreads.

Over months, the main driver of realized shareholder value is whether repurchases are funded from excess cash or from balance-sheet leverage reallocation. If management funds significant buybacks from operating cash while deferring fleet investment/charter renewals, the market will re-price growth optionality and future free cash flow growth; conversely, if buybacks are small net of affiliate sales, the program is effectively a mechanical liquidity management tool with negligible fundamental impact.

Watch two catalysts tightly: (1) any change in the affiliate selling cadence — a pause would convert program flows from neutral to bullish within days; (2) freight-rate shocks or a material shift in credit spreads that alter the attractiveness of deploying cash into the fleet versus returning it to shareholders, which plays out over 1–6 months. Tail risk: a sudden need to recapitalize the fleet (charter slump, covenant breach) would force buyback reversals and could cost shareholders materially over quarters to years.

Key Decisions for Investors

• Long pair: Long NORDEN (Copenhagen: NORDEN.CO) 6–9 month exposure financed by short Golden Ocean (OSL: GOGL) equal notional. Rationale: buyback underpin + idiosyncratic liquidity support vs GOGL’s pure dry-bulk cyclicality. Target +20–30% outperformance for NORDEN vs GOGL; stop if pair moves -8% adverse.
• Volatility arbitrage: Sell short-dated (1M) ATM straddles on NORDEN around announced repurchase execution days and buy longer-dated (3M) calls to cap tail risk. Expect IV compression post-execution; aim to collect 1–2% premium in 30 days with capped max loss from long calls (pay-up limit 3–4%).
• Event hedge: Monitor borrow fee and specialness; if borrow >2.5% and open interest drops, buy 1–3 week call spreads to play squeezed rerating (delta positive, limited downside). Size small (0.5–1% NAV) — skewed payout if short base tightness materializes.
• Capital-allocation contrarian: If management shifts to net-positive repurchases (affiliate selling falls) within 30 days, rotate 2–3% NAV from freight-cyclical longs (SBLK/GOGL) into NORDEN to capture 15–25% re-rating; conversely, if fleet capex is deferred to prioritize buybacks, trim exposure and reallocate to names with clearer reinvestment optionality.