– I am very happy with the fantastic result so far. I look forward to the journey we are now embarking on together with Bank Norwegian, says Nordax CEO Jacob Lundblad to Finansavisen.
On Friday afternoon, Nordax announced that it controls a total of 91.81 percent of the shares and voting rights in Bank Norwegian. Nordax has thus achieved the primary goal, which was to obtain at least 90 per cent acceptance from the shareholders, and Nordax can now forcibly redeem the shareholders who have not accepted the offer.
All government approvals are in place, so the acquisition is now in place.
“We want to create an industrial entity,” Nordax CEO Jacob Lundblad told Finansavisen, when the desire to buy Bank Norwegian became known in March.
Lundblad was clear that Bank Norwegian and Nordax complement each other very well.
“We have the same ambition and we match each other well, both with products and in geographical catchment areas,” said the Nordax CEO.
But it has not been an easy road for the Swedes. It has been hard work for several months, first to get the board of Bank Norwegian up and running, and then the shareholders. There have been many postponements of the acceptance deadline in recent weeks, but now the Swedes have finally reached the goal.
– Very favorable purchase
The offer of NOK 105 gives a premium of 37 percent compared to the closing price on March 3 this year, the day before the request for the acquisition was announced. Bank Norwegian values this at NOK 19.6 billion.
Many of the Bank Norwegian shareholders, led by Torstein Tvenge, Egil Stenshagen and Bjørn Kise, have expressed their dissatisfaction and argued that the bid of NOK 105 per share. stock is at the cheeky end of the price scale. Many of the shareholders who have been dissatisfied with the price have pointed out that they are now on their way out of the pandemic and that Bank Norwegian has plans to expand its operations to Europe in the coming years. Forbrukslånsbanken has concrete plans for a launch in Spain and Germany later this year.
– We congratulate Nordax on a very favorable purchase. We think it is a pity that we are not still allowed to be an owner of this well-run bank, and not least now in the future when times seem to get better, Egil Stenshagen comments to Finansavisen.
However, Nordax CEO Jacob Lundblad has all along described the offer as high and considered that it is a good opportunity for shareholders to realize the investment in Bank Norwegian. When the acceptance deadline has been postponed, Lundblad has been clear that NOK 105 is “the last and best bid”.
Folketrygdfondet, which is Bank Norwegian’s second largest shareholder with 8.69 per cent of the shares, has also not been satisfied with the offer of NOK 105.
“Our assessment is that the bid is too low, and we will not accept it,” said equity director Nils Bastiansen in Folketrygdfondet to E24 in September.
But on Thursday this week, Folketrygdfondet threw away the cards. The sale of a total of 16,237,652 Bank Norwegian shares will bring in approximately NOK 1.7 billion for Folketrygdfondet.
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