BW Offshore rejects Sohmen-Pao’s offer for oil and gas player BW Energy
Floater specialist BW Offshore has said no to a mandatory offer made by parent company BW Group to buy shares of affiliate company BW Energy.
BW Group has on November 29, 2023, purchased 250,000 shares in BW Energy for NOK 23.7717 ($2.3) per share via an all-or-nothing order placed with a bank. Following this, BW Group held 103,202,470 shares in the company, representing 40% of the total shares outstanding and voting rights.
As a result of the transaction, BW Group had an obligation either to reduce its shareholding under 40% or to make a mandatory offer to purchase the remaining shares in BW Energy.
The parent company decided to make a mandatory offer for the shares of BW Energy for NOK 27 ($2.61) per share with the offer period closing on January 12, 2024. The offer values the entire issued share capital of BW Energy at approximately NOK 6.97bn ($675m).
On Wednesday, BW Offshore – which owns 58,111,461 or 22.52% shares in BW Energy – decided to say no to BW Group’s offer. BW Offshore engaged Arctic Securities as its independent financial advisor to assist the company in assessing the offer.
“Based on a careful assessment of the offer, and after having taken into consideration valuation advice received from Arctic Securities, BW Offshore’s strategy, and such other factors as the company deemed relevant, BW Offshore has resolved not to accept the offer,” the company said in a statement.
The FPSO owner added that Andreas Sohmen-Pao who is the chairman of BW Group, BW Offshore, and BW Energy as well as Carl Krogh Arnet, CEO of BW Energy and a board member of BW Offshore, have not participated in BW Offshore’s discussions and decisions relating to the offer.
In the past few months, Sohmen-Pao made moves to take two of BW Group’s subsidiaries private – BW Ideol and BW Epic Kosan. The decision to take BW Ideol, BW Group’s Oslo-listed floating wind company, private was made in November last year, while the privatisation of gas ship operator BW Epic Kosan was wrapped up the following month.
