Aker Capital has splashed nearly NOK 400m ($38m) to bump up its stake in takeover-threatened Solstad Offshore.
In a stock exchange filing made late on Thursday, the Norwegian shipowner disclosed that Aker Capital acquired 8.2m shares to up its position to nearly 33% of the company.
The filing said Aker Capital bought the shares in two tranches: One consisting of 7.4m shares at NOK 50 and the second just over 843,000 shares at NOK 34.84.
On Thursday, Solstad Offshore shares traded as low as NOK 32.88 before rising to their closing price of NOK 35.60, a jump of NOK 2.64 on the day.
Kjell Inge Rokke-backed Aker Capital was set to take a controlling stake in Solstad Offshore as part of a refinancing agreement that included a loan from DNB and Eksportfinans Norge and a ship-for-shares deal with AMSC until Christen Sveaas’ Kristefos launched a bid to scuttle the deal last week.
On 7 December, Sveaas sent a letter to Solstad Offshore management, requesting a shareholder meeting to discuss a damages claim against Aker Capital, AMSC, chief executive Lars Peder Solstad and others.
Sveaas and Kristefos argue the potential defendants — including Rokke in his role as Aker Capital chairman, Aker Capital chief executive Oyvind Eriksen, the Solstad successor company, AMSC head Pal Magnussen and board chair Annette Malm Justad and the Solstad Offshore board — received unlawful distributions as part of the deal.
The two also want a substitute board installed at Solstad Offshore to see the litigation through.
At the time, Kristefos owned 5.16% of the company, but raised its stake to 16.2% with the purchase of 500,000 shares last week.
