Norwegian shipowner Ocean Yield's top executives look likely to be awarded new incentives to stay on after US private equity company Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) takes over.
The Oslo-listed sale-and-leaseback specialist's chief executive Lars Solbakken confirmed to analysts on a conference call that bosses are selling all their shares to KKR in the offer period, which closes on 5 November.
"The intention is that we will enter into new investment schemes with KKR," he added.
Solbakken also said the new owner could delist Ocean Yield in the first half of 2022 following the $829.5m deal.
And he reiterated that the company is continuing to hunt for investments in tankers, bulkers and containerships with long-term charters.
Norwegian tycoon Kjell Inge Rokke's Aker Capital is selling its 61.65% stake in Ocean Yield to KKR.
But another key date for the company is 8 November — the expiration of a purchase option held by Rokke's Aker Energy for Ocean Yield's idle and costly floating production storage and offloading unit, the 214,266-cbm Dhirubhai-1 (built 1979).
Ocean Yield took a $16.4m impairment on the FPSO in the third quarter, leading to a net loss of $2.5m for the period, against a loss of $104.4m in the same period of 2020.
One-off expenses related to the KKR transaction also knocked $8.5m off the bottom line.
Revenue dipped to $44.7m from $57.2m the year before.
Wanted in Ghana
Aker Energy has "for some time" been in talks over acquiring the laid-up FPSO for the development and commercialisation of the Deepwater Tano Cape Three Points block offshore Ghana.
The Rokke company can buy the unit for $35m.
Ocean Yield has been trying to sell or find further employment for the FPSO since it came off charter to Reliance in India in 2018.
Aker Energy has already paid Ocean Yield $17.9m as compensation for "certain prior options" related to the FPSO, as well as certain other services.
The total investment by Aker Energy in securing the unit will as a result be $52.9m.
If Aker Energy declares the purchase option at $35m, KKR's offer price will rise to NOK 41.74 ($4.81) per share, from NOK 41 currently.
The book value of the unit is $51.3m.
The shares have traded flat at NOK 41 in line with the offer price since the announcement in September.
