Store owner Kjell Inge Røkke and Aker CEO Øyvind Eriksen come up with a new solution in the dispute over the rescue plan for Solstad Offshore.
Kjell Inge Røkke and Christen Sveaas are actors in the battle for Solstad Offshore. Published:
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Kjell Inge Røkke-owned Aker is taking a new, juicy jab at Solstad Offshore, which is suitable to tighten the legs on Christen Sveaas’ desire to sue the board of the offshore shipping company.
– Aker has bought shares to ensure completion of the refinancing in the best interests of Solstad Offshore, the shareholders, lenders and the company’s 2,500 employees, say Aker’s chairman Kjell Inge Røkke and CEO Øyvind Eriksen in a joint statement, and continues;
– We register that certain shareholders have put the refinancing at risk.
On Thursday, Aker Capital bought shares in Solstad Offshore for almost NOK 400 million.
This increases Aker og Røkke’s ownership stake in the offshore shipping company by ten percent. The Aker system thus ensures control over around a third of the company.
Arguing
The statement from Røkke and Eriksen does not mention which shareholders would threaten the refinancing of Solstad.
Earlier this month, investor Christen Sveaas came out hard against Kjell Inge Røkkes Aker.
Sveaas believes that the rescue plan in the offshore shipping company that was announced in October roughly favors Aker, and refers to it as a disgrace to Oslo Børs.
Aker disagrees with the claims. Solstad Offshore CEO Lars Peder Solstad believes that the letter with Kistefos’ accusations is “full of factual errors”.
– No problem
During a video meeting of the small shareholders in Solstad earlier this week, Kistefos CEO Bengt A. Rem stated that the rebellion against the Aker-led restructuring will not destroy the financing of the offshore shipping company.
– Firstly, there is no reason why DNB or Eksfin should withdraw from the financing. Secondly, Kistefos does not see it as a problem to obtain the equity capital and financing needed, says Rem.
Both the Sveaas company Kistefos and Aker have bought into Solstad Offshore after the conflict became known.
An American investor has backed Sveaas.
Offshore shipowner Stig Remøy has done the same, and he has also bought into Solstad Offshore.
The maktfinte
Aker Capital, the company in the Aker system that holds the Solstad shares, owns 32.9 per cent of the shares and votes in the company after the major purchase on Thursday.
Frank Reite, who represents Aker on the board of Solstad, also owns shares in the company. Reite owns 356,509 shares in Solstad Offshore through Fauske Invest as.
Reite is deputy chairman of Aker’s board. He joined the Aker system in 1995 and has previously been finance director in the group.
This means that after Thursday’s big purchase, Aker Capital and Reite have just under a third of the shares and voting rights in Solstad Offshore.
– When it comes to major decisions, a two-thirds majority is required. By owning up to a third, it means they can block decisions. It is rare that 100 per cent participate in a vote, so just under a third will normally be sufficient, explains Robert Næss, investment director at Nordea Wealth Management.
According to Kistefos’ proposal, Sveaas wants a board of trustees to take over the authority of the ordinary board for all matters relating to the claim and the lawsuit to be chosen at an upcoming general meeting to consider a lawsuit against the board and others.
Kistefos demands that Aker Capital and others who are proposed to be sued must be refused a vote at the upcoming general meeting. It is currently unknown whether Kistefos will get approval for this claim.
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2023-12-15 10:01:18
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