One of the critics of Solstad Offshore’s refinancing deal with Kjell Inge Rokke’s Aker Capital has divested from the company.
Herr Investment Group (HIG) private fund Pointillist Partners — once the third-largest shareholder of the Oslo-listed offshore support vessel owner — has sold all 4.1m shares, Solstad Offshore said in a stock exchange filing on Thursday.
“Following the transaction, no accounts managed by HIG owns any shares in the company,” the filing said.
Michigan-based Pointillist Partners had stated its support for Christian Sveaas and Kistefos in their attempt to bring legal action against several Solstad Offshore insiders for allegedly wiping out shareholders while securing NOK 13.2bn ($1.2bn) in a mixture of equity primarily issued to Aker Capital and debt.
The equity gave Aker Capital a controlling stake while moving most of its fleet to a new company, Solstad Maritime.
In December, Pointillist said it had reached out to Solstad Offshore repeatedly throughout 2023 to offer refinancing solutions, only to be ignored.
“As a significant shareholder, we expected that an investment bank advising Solstad Offshore on the debt restructuring would reach out to us and ask for a commitment of equity,” Pointillist co-founder Jorey Chernett said.
“We do not understand how other viable and more equitable alternatives were properly examined if large shareholders were not contacted at all.”
It echoes claims from Kistefos, which Solstad Offshore disputed in a letter in January.
The shipowner said Kistefos only contacted it twice, once about purchasing a ship and once regarding legal claims against another one of its vessels.
Kistefos first attempted to convene a shareholder meeting to initiate legal action against 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 in the deal as it swapped the 178-loa offshore construction vessel Normand Maximus (built 2016) for NOK 1bn in equity.
It has since sent two letters to the companies notifying them they are contemplating a lawsuit.
Kistefos remains Solstad Offshore’s second-largest shareholder with 11.3m shares, or 17.4% of the company, while Kistefos Investment owns 3.6m shares.
Since 23 October, when Solstad Offshore announced the refinancing plan, its shares have jumped from NOK 26.76 to NOK 36.58 on Thursday and have traded above NOK 40.
