– This is some of the most serious I have seen in Norwegian finance. The acquisition of Ice is a pure circumvention of a direct bid for a company. Here, the stock exchange should come on the scene and investigate the transaction, says minority shareholder Roy Mosvold in Ice Today’s business.
He owns seven million Ice shares, which now have a value of four million kroner. One year ago, the shares would have had a market value of NOK 133 million, according to the newspaper.
Oslo Børs says the acquisition is not Oslo Børs’ responsibility and believes it is up to the shareholders if they want it to be considered legally.
At the end of February, it became known that Lyse had entered into an agreement to buy Ice Group Scandinavia Holdings. The agreement had a value of approximately NOK 5.6 billion and means that Lyse will take over all operations and operational activities in Ice.
Mosvold, who is also a lender to Ice, reacts to the fact that it was not a direct bid for listed Ice, but a purchase of the subsidiary.
Ice has had a large debt for a long time. The group points out that the debt burden is the reason for the chosen acquisition model and that the solution does not violate customs and usage in acquisitions. Lyse also does not believe that the purchase breaks any rules.
The merger between Ice and Lyse will be a competitor to Telenor and Telia with 1.5 million customers on mobile, broadband and TV.
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