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DOF shareholders seek to oust new board amid debt restructuring proposal

Norway’s DOF has said that a group of its shareholders are demanding an extraordinary general meeting for the election of new board members.

The debt-laden Norwegian offshore vessel owner said the move suggested that shareholders do not support the board’s proposal for reconstruction, under which they would retain 3.75% of the shares in the company.

The new board, which was set up just a little over a month ago on the initiative of a large group of minority investors who revolted against the Oslo-listed company’s previous restructuring plan, proposed almost an identical scheme, which was voted down in November last year.

The board consists of Leif Salomonsen as chairman, Beatriz Malo de Molina, Merete Haugli and Tore Grøttum. The company’s second-largest shareholder, Bjarte Brønmo who helped oust the old board resigned last month.

The names of the new board members have not yet been announced.

“The shareholders are fully entitled to demand the election of a new board, but the board does not understand why they should reject the board’s proposal for reconstruction. The board wants dialogue about the way forward, but the group has on several occasions rejected this and refused to receive the information they themselves have repeatedly requested,” said Salomonsen.

If a sufficient number of shareholders vote in favor of the board’s proposal, the reconstructor will notify creditors on Wednesday. If not, the company reiterated that it is likely to go bankrupt.

The plan has already received support from DOF’s largest shareholder, Møgster Offshore, with a 31.6% stake. DOF noted that the group that is demanding an extraordinary general meeting holds around 13% of the shares and “does not have enough influence alone to send the company into bankruptcy”.

Adis Ajdin

Adis is an experienced news reporter with a background in finance, media and education. He has written across the spectrum of offshore energy and ocean industries for many years and is a member of International Federation of Journalists. Previously he had written for Navingo media group titles including Offshore Energy, Subsea World News and Marine Energy.
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