Akastor ASA: Akastor and Mitsui seek to expand partnership
October 25, 2017 at 12:56 am EDT
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Akastor ASA (OSE: AKA), an oil service investment company, announced today that it is in advanced discussions with MITSUI & CO., LTD. ("Mitsui"), a leading Japanese trading and investment company, to further expand their current partnership to include AKOFS Offshore ("AKOFS").
The parties have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding which includes the following main terms (the "Transaction"):
Mitsui, together with potential partners, will invest in AKOFS by purchasing 50% of the shares in the company to form a new 50-50 joint venture
The Transaction is expected to result in an initial net cash release to Akastor of approximately USD 142 million for the shares in AKOFS, with a potential further cash release depending on earnings generated by the AKOFS Seafarer vessel in the coming years
"We are pleased to have reached this important milestone and believe the transaction will provide a beneficial long-term ownership structure for AKOFS. The prospect of expanding our current partnership with Mitsui is exciting and we look forward to further developing the cooperation in the coming years," says Kristian Røkke, CEO of Akastor.
Through the Transaction, Mitsui will assume an active role in the further support and development of AKOFS together with Akastor as a long-term business partner. The Transaction still remains subject to agreement on final terms and conditions, final due diligence, the entry of definitive agreements between Akastor and Mitsui and BoD approvals for all respective parties. Completion of the Transaction is expected to occur in Q1 2018.
This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5 -12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.
This announcement is distributed by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions on behalf of Nasdaq Corporate Solutions clients. The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein. Source: Akastor ASA via Globenewswire
Akastor ASA, formerly Aker Solutions ASA, is a Norway-based oil-services investment company with a portfolio of industrial and financial holdings. The Company has three reportable segments: HMH, a premier drilling solutions provider, AKOFS Offshore, a provider of vessel-based subsea well construction and intervention services to the oil and gas industry and AGR, a well design and drilling project management company. Akastor ASAâs portfolio includes such companies as DDW Offshore AS, an owner of 5 mid-sized Anchor Handling Tug Supply (AHTS) vessels, Odfjell Drilling AS, an international drilling, well service ad engineering company, Awilco Drilling PLC, a North Sea drilling contractor and Cool Sorption A/S, a supplier of Vapour Recovery Units (VRU) and systems.