Umoe Invest AS ==> Various links (and excerpts) to tell us about the new 10%+ PGS/PGO holder (English only; many more in Norwegian):
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kongsberg.com
Jens Ulltveit-Moe
Director
Number of years on the Board: 1
Number of Kongsberg Gruppen ASA shares: Owns 100 000 personally and controls 3 236 596 through Umoe Invest AS
Position: CEO Umoe Group
President, Confederation of Norwegian Business and Industry
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unitor.no
November 1st 2001
Umoe intends to make an offer for Unitor's shares
Umoe plans to present an offer for the outstanding shares in Unitor. Umoe and close associates own 6,912,151 shares representing 35.36 per cent of all shares issued. In connection with Umoe's offer Mr. Jens Ulltveit-Moe has chosen to resign from Unitor's Board of Directors with effect from 31 October 2001. Assuming that Unitor by 7 November 2001 neutralises any possible share-price sensitive information that Mr. Jens Ulltveit-Moe might have been privy to through his previous position as Chairman of the Board, Umoe intends to present the offer in mid-November 2001.
Umoe will offer NOK 41 per share, which value the company at about NOK 801.5 million. This represents a premium of NOK 182.2 million, corresponding to 29.4 per cent compared to the volume weighted average price on the Oslo Stock Exchange during the last 6 days of trading. The implementation of the offer is conditional on Umoe acquiring a minimum ownership share of 67 per cent.
· Background and rationale
With its understanding of the industry, Umoe acquired a stake in Unitor in 1996 with the intention of playing an active role in developing Unitor as a global ship service company. Mr. Jens Ulltveit-Moe assumed the position of Chairman of the Board in 1997. Unfortunately development, operationally and financially, has not been as expected. Over time the company's share price has declined and there is poor liquidity in the share. The shareholders have partially been locked in to their positions due to the shareholder structure. Consequently Umoe is of the opinion that in the current situation it is not in Unitor's best interest to be a listed company.
Unitor has published disappointing figures for third quarter and the difficult market conditions make future prospects uncertain. Umoe therefore senses that there is a great need to take a more firm control of Unitor's future development.
· Umoe wants to be a long-term and active owner of Unitor
Unitor's activities will be further developed on the basis of existing plans for the company's operations. Umoe will contribute additional competence and resources to Unitor's further development. Through an active ownership Umoe has considerable experience in carrying out demanding restructuring and consolidation of Norwegian companies.
Umoe is confident that Unitor will develop in a positive direction in the long term and that Unitor can strengthen its position as a profitable service supplier to the global market. Umoe finds that this best can be achieved by allowing Unitor to have a long-term perspective for its work, and one owner with both the patience and adequate resources to support the company.
The objective of the offer is to acquire a sufficient number of shares in Unitor for Umoe to apply firm control and consistent management of the company throughout the industrial cycle. The offer allows Unitor's shareholders to sell their shares at a price considerably higher than the shareprice prior to the offer.
· Impact on the employees
The implementation of the offer will have no direct financial or occupational impact on Unitor's employees.
· For further details please contact Umoe AS:
Mr. Jens Ulltveit-Moe, Chief Executive Officer or Mr. Erlend Grimstad, Excecutive Vice Precident Telephone: + 47 6711 0800
Enclosure:
Umoe in brief:
Umoe AS is a Norwegian owned industrial investment company that was established in 1984 by Jens Ulltveit-Moe. Umoe consists of several companies and has an investment portfolio that soundly positions the Group for the future. Through active and long-term ownership Umoe wants to develop companies through organic growth, acquisitions and industrial restructuring. For the year 2000 the group recorded revenue of NOK 2,732.7 million. Umoe has 781 employees, excluding those in shipping.
Umoe's activities are structured through three subsidiaries: Ulltveit Rederi AS, Umoe Industri AS and Umoe Invest AS.
Umoe invests counter-cyclically in periods of economic contraction. This strategy calls for some will to take on risk and Umoe provides risk capital. Umoe makes long-term investments and historically its exposure has been in the offshore and maritime sector.
Umoe's business philosophy is to contribute more than just financial resources - the company wants to be an active co-owner with a sufficiently high ownership stake to influence important decisions. Furthermore, the company focuses on exploiting existing opportunities, which can involve demanding turnaround operations and reorganisations. Umoe has a great deal of experience in reorganising Norwegian companies.
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forinvestor.com
The Kverneland Group is the largest specialised producer and distributor of agricultural implements in the world. The Group's current brand portfolio includes Kverneland, Vicon, Rau, Underhaug, Accord, Taarup, Gregoire, Paris and Bobard. These strong, quality brands enable the Kverneland Group to offer unique and complete product ranges to both farmers and dealers within grass, soil preparation, fertilising, seeding, sprayers, potato and wine harvesting machinery.
Kverneland ASA, the mother company, is listed on the stock exchange in Oslo and currently consists of 20 production companies and over 20 wholly or partially owned sales companies. The Group's turnover in 1999 was almost 4 billion NOK and in 1999 the Group had approximately 3500 employees throughout the world.
20 Largest Shareholders - 25 July 2001
Shareholder / Number of shares / Ownership (%)
Umoe Invest AS / 972.241 / 9.97
Orkla ASA / 928.733 / 9.52
Vital Forsikring ASA / 438.014 / 4.49
Odin Norge / 413.050 / 4.24
Folketrygdfondet / 389.850 / 4.00
Verdipapirfondet Avanse / 268.300/ 2.75
K-Holding AS / 250.000 / 2.56
K-Vekst aksjefond / 249.800 / 2.56
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odin.dep.no
Aftenposten)
It now seems likely that the Norwegian frigate contract will go to the Spanish Bazan shipyard. Large direct offset contracts granted to Umoe and Kongsberg are what decided the issue. Blohm + Voss, Bazan's main competitors, are considering a move to mount political pressure through German Minister of Defence Rudolf Scharping, among others. Not surprisingly, the Royal Navy Logistics Command released a report yesterday that negotiations with Bazan and US armaments manufacturer Lockheed Martin will continue. The goal now is to complete contract negotiations with Bazan within the NOK 12 billion framework by the end of the year.
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schat-harding.com
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norwaypost.no
15. Juni 2000
Statoil awards Umoe NOK 2bn contract
Umoe did not get a slice of the Naval frigate pie from the Spanish yard Bazan, but today they were awarded a contract worth NOK 2.1bn by Statoil for the deck of the Kvitebjorn platform.
Umoe’s subsidiary Umoe Olje og Gass AS was today awarded the contract to build the deck for the Kvitebjorn oil platform. Umoe Director Petter Stigset said to Dagens Naeringsliv that “This was a job we were waiting for. We have worked hard on the offer and are pleased that it gave results.”
Planning work on the platform begins on July 1, while the actual construction will begin next Spring in Haugesund. At the busiest point, the contract will employ 1250 persons from Umoe. After the completed platform is delivered to Statoil on December 1, 2002, it will remain in Haugesund until May, 2003 for system testing.
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royalsupreme.com
Norwegian seafood company Royal Supreme Seafood is happy to announce its new board of directors, an important step on the way to becoming a significant global player.
The new chairman of the board is Mr. Harald Norvik. Norvik was for a period of 11 years from 1988 President and Chief Executive Officer of Statoil A/S, the largest Norwegian oil company. Current positions include chairmanships in Oslo Stock Exchange; TV2 (largest Norwegian commercial TV broadcaster); UMOE (engineering and construction conglomerate); and Supervisory Board of DnB (largest Norwegian commercial bank). Until recently Norvik was also chairman of the air carrier SAS. Norvik is M.Sc. Economics from The Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration, and has previously pursued a political career, which included positions as personal assistant to the Prime Minister and state secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy.
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abb.com!OpenDatabase&db=/global/ABBZH/abbzh250.nsf&v=553E&e=us&c=6931E2A18AC959C4C1256922002306A6
ABB also bolstered its service activities in the oil and gas sector with the purchase of Norwegian-based Umoe ASA. Umoe has a long track record in the Norwegian offshore market with a strong focus on modification and maintenance services, including electrical installations. ABB intends to use its global scope to expand Umoe’s activities to the worldwide oil and gas market, while supporting further growth of ABB’s share of the offshore oil and gas service market in general and in particular the Norwegian market. |
