A Norwegian court has rejected a bid by dissident family members to open the company books of the holding company behind Oslo-listed Wilh Wilhelmsen.
The ruling by the Ringerike, Asker, and Baerum District Court is a victory for Wilh Wilhelmsen chief executive Thomas Wilhelmsen over an alliance of family members. His cousin Pontine Paus' Starship Investments is the formal plaintiff, but Starship's defeat is in practical terms a defeat for allied family interests.
A source close to the losing side told TradeWinds that irrespective of the outcome, the dispute is unlikely to have consequences for the shipowning, ship supply, ship management and other operating sides of the business.
"It is very difficult to see that this decision could affect the operational entities of the Wilh Wilhelmsen group in any way," said the source, who was not willing to be identified.
The petition by Paus asked for court-ordered investigations of the books of various holding entities but specifically excluded stocklisted Wilh Wilhelmsen.
The win for fifth-generation shipowner Wilhelmsen is part of an ongoing legal battle over a shipowning and business empire that is effectively controlled by him, but with a majority of holding company shares held by disaffected aunts and cousins.
Starship had petitioned the court to order an investigation of how its non-voting interests are being handled by family holding company AS Taurus, portfolio manager Toluma and multiple layers of subsidiary holding companies between Taurus and the group's operating and investing businesses.
Legal costs
But the court found that AS Taurus had already provided enough information in response to enquiries. Starship has been ordered to pay legal costs.
AS Taurus is over 90% owned by non-voting shareholders under a structure designed to preserve the continuity of the company. It indirectly controls Oslo-listed Wilh Wilhelmsen in addition to some NOK 4bn ($450m) in family financial interests outside shipping, according to Norwegian daily newspaper Dagens Naeringsliv.
The newspaper, which has covered the dispute closely since it boiled over publicly last year, reported that legal costs come to nearly NOK 5m, including AS Taurus' legal bill of NOK 1.9m and the plaintiff's bill of around NOK 3m.
The Wilhelmsen CEO and a legal representative of Paus both declined to add to general comments already supplied to Norwegian media. Dagens Naeringsliv quoted a statement by Paus saying she is reviewing the decision and considering whether to appeal.
