Christian Sveaas and his Kistefos investment company are showing no signs of giving up in their battle with Kjell Inge Rokke over the refinancing of Solstad Offshore.
The two Norwegian magnates have been locked in a public dispute for several months which now appears to be destined for a legal dispute.
Solstad Offshore, Aker Capital and AMSC all made nearly identical stock exchange filings disclosing that the companies and their executives could be named as defendants in a class-action lawsuit as the investment firm looks to recoup alleged losses.
“The board members of [Solstad Offshore] and the CEO maintain that any such lawsuit would be without merit,” the company said in its filing late last week, a view echoed by Aker and AMSC.
Kistefos chief executive Bengt Rem declined to comment when contacted by TradeWinds.
Solstad Offshore announced the NOK 13.2bn ($1.2bn) refinancing in October, made up of a NOK 4bn tranche of equity mainly paid to Aker Capital in exchange for 57% stake in a new company, Solstad Maritime, plus a NOK 9.7bn loan.
It attracted criticism from Kistefos in December, with the company filing a letter requesting a shareholder meeting in order to take legal action against a litany of Solstad Offshore insiders.
Those insiders included the Solstad Offshore board, chief executive Lars Peder Solstad, Aker Capital, its managing director and Rokke, AMSC chief executive Pal Magnussen and the company’s chair Annette Malm Justad.
AMSC was involved as it received NOK 1bn in equity in exchange for the 178-loa offshore construction vessel Normand Maximus (built 2016).
Kistefos’ proposed meeting was eventually put off and in mid-January, Solstad Offshore completed the first phase of refinancing.
At the same time, the company published a letter outlining the benefits of the refinancing plan and pushing back against Kistefos claims that it proposed a solution.
It said the Sveaas-backed company only reached out twice, once about purchasing a ship and the second time about legal claims against the Normand Maximus.
“The board remains convinced that the refinancing represents the best available alternative to safeguard shareholder values,” Solstad Offshore chairman Harald Espedal said in the letter.
“I cannot stress strongly enough that no shareholder or other third party to date has presented a fully financed alternative solution to Solstad Group’s NOK 13.2bn financing needs, which matures in two-and-a-half months.”
