Aker threatened legal action after the major American shareholder went against the rescue plan in Solstad Offshore. Now the Røkke company is reacting to new statements from the same side.
DOESN’T RECOGNIZE HIMSELF: Øyvind Eriksen, CEO of Aker. Photo: Skjalg Böhmer Vold / E24 Published:
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On Tuesday, the American fund Pointillist Partners, managed by Herr Investment Group, presented new details about a series of meetings it had with Aker, the management of Solstad Offshore and financial advisers in connection with the controversial rescue plan for the shipping company.
Since the Solstad dispute broke out, the fund has supported the criticism put forward by the Sveaas camp, with demands that the shareholders be treated equally in the rescue operation of the offshore shipping company.
Pointillist describes a meeting with Aker CEO Øyvind Eriksen and Frank Reite, board member of Aker og Solstad. The fund claims, among other things, that Eriksen and Reite became “noticeably uncomfortable” as their questions became more “sharply worded”.
E24 has asked Aker for a comment. The answer comes from the company’s communications director Atle Kigen.
– Pointllist’s report from the conversation with Eriksen and Reite appears as “free poetry”. The two experienced the conversation as factual and informative, without critical questions.
The rescue plan, in which Kjell Inge Røkkes Aker has a central role, was put forward in October last year. The meeting in question was held later that month.
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Aker: – Looking ahead
The fund writes that as the conversation progressed, it became clear that Aker had had “full control” over the refinancing process without the involvement of other shareholders or other investors.
Aker repeated several times in the meeting that this was a good deal for Solstad and its shareholders, according to the fund. A key question was why Aker then needed to protect itself with warrants in the event that a better alternative appeared, but according to the fund, Aker did not answer this question satisfactorily.
The fund claims that Pareto said in another meeting that the banks had demanded that Aker should own a majority of Solstad. In the meeting with Aker, this was rejected, according to the fund.
Kigen does not answer questions from E24 about bank claims.
– The refinancing is carried out according to plan. We are looking ahead, and refrain from commenting on topics in closed negotiations with banks and others, says Kigen.
The company’s chief executive, Lars Peder Solstad, has previously stated that it was a requirement from DNB and Eksfin that Aker should have a significant ownership stake.
When Pointillist came out hard against the rescue plan in December, Aker sent a letter to the American fund threatening legal action. This became known on Monday this week.
Solstad: – Falling on their own unreasonableness
The fund says that in the meeting with Aker he mentioned the “significant dilution” and asked, among other things, how this would affect the Solstad management and their respective share incentives”.
The shipping company’s CEO, Lars Peder Solstad, is through his family’s company Jarsteinen as the third largest shareholder in Solstad, he points out. Chairman Harald Espedal is also a major shareholder in the company.
– So we are in the same boat as Pointillist and other minority shareholders. All insinuations that the management/board have deliberately chosen a solution that is not in the shareholders’ – and thus our own – best interest, therefore fall on their own unreasonableness and do not entail correctness, writes Solstad in an e-mail to E24.
Regarding the meeting activities, Solstad says that they have had several meetings with Pointillist. As a rule, this was after the company presented quarterly results, according to the CEO.
– In these meetings, Pointillist has come up with non-binding views, without putting any concrete refinancing proposal on the table, says Solstad.
Pointillist claims that over two months before the rescue plan was announced, it presented an offer to inject fresh money.
Solstad reiterates that there has been no comprehensive solution proposal from Pointillist or any other shareholders that has been concrete, and that it has been relevant to be able to implement and that will be able to handle the significant debt maturity in March 2024.
Lars Peder Solstad, CEO and major shareholder in Solstad Offshore. Photo: Berit Roald / NTB
Fund: Had nine meetings before disputed plan
Pointillist Partners claims that it had nine meetings with the management of Solstad Offshore and financial advisers before the controversial rescue plan was put forward. This was over a period from November 2022 to August last year.
Daniel Herr from Pointillist Partners participated in all these meetings.
E24 has tried to get comments on the matter from Pareto and Eksfin, but has so far been unsuccessful. DNB has no comments.
Solstad chairman Espedal has rejected the criticism. He has also given an account of the work with the rescue plan.
Daniel Herr Photo: Pointillist Partners
The argument continues
In December last year, the billionaire battle started when investor Christen Sveaas and his investment company Kistefos launched a full attack on Kjell Inge Røkkes Aker about the values in the shipping company.
Since then, the parties have engaged in dialogue. In the meantime, the Kistefos demand for an extraordinary general meeting to assess a lawsuit against the board and the Røkke companies involved has been put on hold. The dialogue is still ongoing.
The core of Kistefos’s criticism has been that the agreement which clears up Solstad’s debts treats the shareholders differently in favor of Aker.
The requirement has been equal treatment in that other shareholders are allowed to buy more shares in the capital raising.
Earlier in January, it was announced that Solstad had completed the first part of the refinancing. This includes NOK 11.4 billion in debt.
2024-01-23 14:00:48
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