Norwegian investor Arne Fredly has sold his entire stake in seismic survey firm Axxis Geo Solutions, which is mulling a new direction ahead of its annual general meeting on Wednesday.
The Oslo- and Houston-based seismic survey vessel owner and charterer has just completed a major financial restructuring.
Fredly told TradeWinds on Tuesday that his firm Apollo Asset Limited sold its last remaining 50m shares in the Oslo-listed firm on Monday, equivalent to 2.6% of AGS's outstanding shares.
A new disclosure will be forthcoming, he added.
Fredly has come under fire in the Norwegian press for a four-day delay in disclosing the sale of 100m shares, which were sold by Apollo last Thursday.
He told TradeWinds on Tuesday he "just forgot" to make the filing.
The notice was supposed to go live on Friday morning, but ran late, he said.
He added that the Axxis share price has either stayed flat or risen since the sales, "so nobody has been hurt".
"When you do about 10 to 15 deals a day, sometimes you just forget," Fredly told TradeWinds.
Axxis' shares closed on the Oslo Stock Exchange at NOK 0.15 on Monday and were trading at NOK 0.149 as of 1pm in Oslo (1100 GMT) on Tuesday.
The stock exchange's rules, which are harmonised with the EU Market Abuse Regulation, require disclosures that directly concern an issuer to be made "as soon as possible".
The rules, however, do not specify a time frame in which to do so.
Rescue deal
Fredly's Apollo bought the 150m Axxis shares in a private placement of stock that the firm completed earlier this year, alongside a conversion of its debt.
Other investors who bought shares in the placement were Edvin Austbo of Alden; Kristian Lundkvist of Middelborg, Ketil Skorstad of Tigerstaden, Karl Viktor Modigh of Urtiven and Investeringsfondet Viking.
As part of the rescue deal, Axxis raised its share capital by 28% to NOK 192.8m by issuing almost 424.4m new shares.
It was these shares that were acquired by the investors, plus Axxis' insiders and backers at a subscription price of NOK 0.50 each and nominal value of NOK 0.10.
Payment for the shares was set off against AGS's receivables by way of settling part of its debts to creditors.
Apollo's 150m shares, equal to around 7.8% of the company, were worth around NOK 75m ($8.7m) at the time of their purchase, based on the subscription price.
AGS expects that a new board will be in place after its annual general meeting on Wednesday.
It also said it is evaluating its strategic direction, according to a filing last week.
"The likely outcome of these evaluations is that Axxis will grow and expand into new business areas which are not related to the oil and geophysical market area, and to which Axxis has not been operating historically," the company said in a filing on 15 June.
"The clear ambition and goal of this process is to create value for Axxis' shareholders on a long-term basis, which includes retaining and maximizing the value of its existing asset-light geophysical business."
In the meantime, AGS is working on a survey contract in the North Sea.
As well as its survey activities, AGS owns 50% stakes in "high-quality' ocean-bottom survey (OBS) data libraries for the North Sea and for the Gulf of Suez, Egypt.
Bonds redeemed
Money raised from the private placement has helped AGS's reconstruction pass another milestone.
Last Thursday, the firm said it has completed the redemption of its bond loan, which comprised outstanding notes under AGS's 8% senior secured $35m bond issue, due in 2020 to 2022.
The loan was repaid with a combination of cash payments and the issuance of new shares, AGS said.
The Oslo Stock Exchange placed AGS's stock into its "recovery box" on 14 January, when the company's restructuring plan was first announced.
AGS was removed from the recovery box on 14 June, after the restructuring was finalised.
The recovery box is a special compartment where the Oslo Bors can place securities when the issuer is subject to circumstances that make pricing of the securities particularly uncertain.
