Andreas Sohmen-Pao’s BW Group has launched its takeover offer for Oslo-listed subsidiary BW Energy, causing its stock to jump 12% on Thursday.
The price reached NOK 26.85 in afternoon trading, only a little short of the NOK 27 per share being offered by BW Group.
The takeover bid runs to 12 January and values the oil production & exploration company at NOK 6.7bn ($637m).
The offer price is also close to the 90-day average price of the shares prior to the release of BW Energy’s third-quarter results.
The deal raises the prospect of yet another BW company being delisted in Oslo, although there was no mention of this in the filing.
BW Group said on 30 November that it had bought 250,000 shares in BW Energy for around NOK 5.9m, moving it to the 40% level that triggers a mandatory offer.
The group already holds a combined 63.3% before the offer, including BW Offshore’s stake, meaning share liquidity is limited.
Following the BW Energy IPO in 2020, floating production, storage and offloading vessel subsidiary BW Offshore had 38.8% and BW Group 35.1%.
BW Offshore has cut its stake to 23.3% since then by paying in-kind dividends of BW Energy shares.
BW Group, as a 49.9% shareholder in BW Offshore, saw its BW Energy stake rise to 39.9% as a result.
The parent said the decision to trigger the offer was aimed at enabling BW Offshore to continue with the dividend policy.
Sohmen-Pao is chairman of BW Energy, which holds majority interests in three hydrocarbon licences in Gabon, Brazil and Namibia.
The parent shipowning giant has already delisted LPG carrier owner BW Epic Kosan and is doing the same to floating offshore wind company BW Ideol in Oslo.
The group has expressed doubt about whether BW Ideol could continue raising equity on the bourse without hurting existing shareholders.
Both moves came after comments Sohmen-Pao made at the Pareto Securities Energy Conference in Oslo in September, in which he fretted that New York-listed competitors are seeing improved share liquidity versus his seven Oslo-listed shipping outfits.
