Fjord Line, the Norwegian company whose shares are traded on the OTC list in Oslo and which operates ferry services to Denmark and Sweden, says it has initiated a dialogue with its senior lenders with the purpose of refinancing the group's long term debt and that it has received an offer for an equity injection plus offer to buyout minority shareholders.
“As a part of this refinancing, the board of directors of the company also resolved to arrange for a share issue in a minimum amount of NOK 100 million. The main shareholder in the company has, on certain conditions, indicated a willingness to underwrite the share issue,” the company said in a statement.
Fjord Line has, on 3 November 2015, received an offer from Ferd AS for the subscription of 40 million shares in the company at a subscription price of NOK 5.00 per share, amounting to a total of NOK 200 million. The offer, which contains certain conditions, has been accepted by the board of directors of Fjord Line.
Ferd will also make a voluntary offer to all shareholders in Fjord Line – apart from the two holding companies of its biggest shareholder - at a price of NOK 5.00 per share. “Due to the limited liquidity of the Fjord Lines shares, the board of directors are pleased that the minority shareholders are offered to sell their shares at a price equaling the subscription price, the company said
Ferd is a family-owned Norwegian investment-company, owned by Johan H. Andresen and his family, committed to value-creating ownership of businesses and investments in financial assets.
Ferds' offer is based on their underlying belief in the industry in general, and especially in Fjord Line. “The company operates a new and modern fleet and has achieved an impressive growth so far in 2015. The technical start-up issues related to the new LNG cruise ferries seems to be solved and the company has obtained settlements/solutions for all recent disputes. Furthermore, Ferd has a good impression of the management of the company and is confident in Fjord Lines' continued growth,” Fjord Line said.
Subsequent to the capital increase, holding companies Kontrari AS/Kontrazi AS will jointly control 57.86% of the shares of the company and Ferd 21.56%.
