Reference is made to the announcements made by DOF ASA (the "Company") and DOF Subsea AS on 22 June 2022 and 21 October 2022 regarding the execution of an agreement (the "Restructuring Agreement") with a substantial group of the DOF group's financial creditors and certain other stakeholders on a comprehensive financial restructuring (the "Restructuring"), and the announcements on 1 and 2 February 2023 regarding the bankruptcy proceedings in the Company opened by Hordaland district court, and the agreement between financial creditors and the bankruptcy estate, facilitating that the Company's subsidiaries will remain unaffected by the bankruptcy.
The Restructuring was today completed in accordance with the Restructuring Agreement and the financial creditors of the DOF group have thereby acquired 100% of the ownership in New DOF ASA (renamed from DOF Services AS and in the process of being converted to a public limited liability company), which is the new holding company in the DOF group. Following the completion of the Restructuring, the Company has no longer any ownership to the companies within the DOF group.
For further information, please contact:
CEO Mons Aase, tel. +47 91 66 10 12
CFO DOF ASA Hilde Drønen, tel. +47 91 66 10 09
This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5 -12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.
With a multi-national workforce of about 3,800 personnel, DOF ASA is an international group of companies which owns and operates a fleet of modern offshore/subsea vessels, and engineering capacity to service both the offshore and subsea market. With over 40 years in the offshore business, the group has a strong position in terms of experience, innovation, product range, technology and capacity. DOF's core businesses are vessel ownership, vessel management, project management, engineering, vessel operations, survey, remote intervention and diving operations primarily for the oil and gas sector. From PSV charter to Subsea engineering, DOF offers a full spectrum of top quality offshore services to facilitate an ever-growing and demanding industry.
The company's main operation centers and business units are located in Norway, the UK, the USA, Singapore, Brazil, Argentina, Canada, Angola, and Australia.
DOF ASA is listed on the Oslo Exchange since 1997.
Historical OSE Notices
News
DOF ASA: Restructuring completed
March 24, 2023
Reference is made to DOF ASA's (the "Company" or "DOF ASA", and together with
its subsidiaries the "Group") announcements earlier today and at 21:00
yesterday.
The administrator of the bankruptcy estate and the financial creditors of the
Group have now entered into the agreement facilitating that the other companies
in the Group than DOF ASA will remain unaffected by the bankruptcy in DOF ASA.
For a further description of the agreement, reference is made to the two
announcements referred to above.
For further information, please contact:
CEO Mons Aase, tel. +47 91 66 10 12
CFO Hilde Drønen, tel. +47 91 66 10 09
This information is considered to be inside information pursuant to the EU
Market Abuse Regulation, and is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant
to Section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. The stock exchange
announcement was published by Hilde Drønen, CFO, DOF ASA.
With a multi-national workforce of about 3,800 personnel, DOF ASA is an
international group of companies which owns and operates a fleet of modern
offshore/subsea vessels, and engineering capacity to service both the offshore
and subsea market. With over 40 years in the offshore business, the group has a
strong position in terms of experience, innovation, product range, technology
and capacity. DOF's core businesses are vessel ownership, vessel management,
project management, engineering, vessel operations, survey, remote intervention
and diving operations primarily for the oil and gas sector. From PSV charter to
Subsea engineering, DOF offers a full spectrum of top quality offshore services
to facilitate an ever-growing and demanding industry.
The company's main operation centers and business units are located in Norway,
the UK, the USA, Singapore, Brazil, Argentina, Canada, Angola, and Australia.
DOF ASA is listed on the Oslo Exchange since 1997.
Historical OSE Notices
DOF ASA: Agreement between financial creditors and the bankruptcy estate of DOF ASA
February 2, 2023
Reference is made to DOF ASA's (the "Company" or "DOF ASA", and together with
its subsidiaries the "Group") announcement at 21:00 on 1 February 2023 regarding
the request to Hordaland tingrett to open bankruptcy proceedings in DOF ASA and
continuation of the financial restructuring to ensure continued operations of
all other companies in the Group in spite of the bankruptcy in DOF ASA.
Hordaland tingrett has now resolved to open bankruptcy proceedings in DOF ASA
and it is expected that the administrator of the bankruptcy estate shortly will
enter into the agreement with the financial creditors of the Group facilitating
that the other companies in the Group than DOF ASA will remain unaffected by the
bankruptcy in DOF ASA. As a result of said agreement, the bankruptcy of DOF ASA
will be limited solely to such Company and will not affect any other company in
the Group. Such alternative implementation of the agreed financial restructuring
has been structured to avoid any interruption to the ongoing operations of the
Group and to avoid losses for the Group's customers, suppliers and other trade
creditors. Consequently, no other creditors than the financial creditors, nor
any of the employees of the Group, are to be affected by such alternative
implementation of the financial restructuring.
For further information, please contact:
CEO Mons Aase, tel. +47 91 66 10 12
CFO Hilde Drønen, tel. +47 91 66 10 09
This information is considered to be inside information pursuant to the EU
Market Abuse Regulation, and is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant
to Section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. The stock exchange
announcement was published by Hilde Drønen, CFO, DOF ASA.
With a multi-national workforce of about 3,800 personnel, DOF ASA is an
international group of companies which owns and operates a fleet of modern
offshore/subsea vessels, and engineering capacity to service both the offshore
and subsea market. With over 40 years in the offshore business, the group has a
strong position in terms of experience, innovation, product range, technology
and capacity. DOF's core businesses are vessel ownership, vessel management,
project management, engineering, vessel operations, survey, remote intervention
and diving operations primarily for the oil and gas sector. From PSV charter to
Subsea engineering, DOF offers a full spectrum of top quality offshore services
to facilitate an ever-growing and demanding industry.
The company's main operation centers and business units are located in Norway,
the UK, the USA, Singapore, Brazil, Argentina, Canada, Angola, and Australia.
DOF ASA is listed on the Oslo Exchange since 1997.
Historical OSE Notices
DOF ASA: Hordaland tingrett has resolved to open bankruptcy proceedings
February 2, 2023
Reference is made to DOF ASA's (the "Company", "DOF ASA" or "DOF", and together
with its subsidiaries the "Group") previous announcements regarding (i) the
agreement reached with a substantial group of financial creditors and certain
other stakeholders (the "Restructuring Agreement") on a comprehensive financial
restructuring (the "Restructuring"), (ii) the opening of reconstruction
proceedings resolved by Hordaland district (the "Reconstruction") on 2 December
2022 and (iii) the last proposal for a restructuring plan made by the board of
directors of DOF (the "Board") on 27 January 2023 (the "Final Proposal").
The Board worked with alternative refinancing plans for the Group, including
recommending the issuance of equity and warrants, in order to enable existing
shareholders to maintain a higher ownership in the restructured company through
additional investment. Feedback from the Creditors was clear that only
alternatives within the limits of the restructuring plan agreed with the former
board of DOF ASA would be considered. As a result, the current Board had no
alternative but to adjust its proposal to the Final Proposal within the limits
of the Restructuring Agreement.
Following the Final Proposal, the financial creditors made it clear that they
only would consider the Final Proposal if the Board was able to obtain
sufficient shareholder support for the proposal to make it likely that it would
be approved by an extraordinary general meeting of the Company. The Board met
persistent opposition from a group of shareholders and was not able to obtain
such sufficient support. The Board then informed the reconstructor and the
financial creditors accordingly.
On this basis, the financial creditors have requested that the reconstruction
committee reports to the court that there is no basis for a reconstruction and
thus request the court to open bankruptcy proceedings in DOF ASA, cf. the
reconstruction act (Norw: rekonstruksjonsloven) Section 58 (1) no. 1. The
financial creditors have at the same time confirmed that they are ready to enter
into an agreement with the bankruptcy estate to acquire DOF Services AS and its
subsidiaries and thereby facilitate that (i) the Restructuring will be
implemented as planned and (ii) the other companies in the Group than DOF ASA
will remain unaffected by the bankruptcy in DOF ASA. As a result of said
agreement the bankruptcy of DOF ASA will be limited solely to such company and
will not affect any other company in the Group. The agreement is expected to
allow for a short period between signing and completion for the administrator of
the bankruptcy estate of DOF ASA to ascertain that the Restructuring is the most
attractive offer for the Group creditors and other stakeholders.
As described in the stock exchange announcement of DOF on 13 October 2022, the
Restructuring will upon completion of the agreement with the financial creditors
be implemented as planned for this scenario and such alternative implementation
of the Restructuring has been structured to avoid any interruption to the
ongoing operations of the Group and to avoid losses for the Group's customers,
suppliers and other trade creditors. Consequently, no other creditors than the
financial creditors, nor any of the employees of the Group, are to be affected
by such alternative implementation of the Restructuring.
The implementation of the Restructuring with DOF Services AS as the new parent
company of the Group is subject to approval by the bondholders' meetings in each
of DOF Subsea AS' bond loans, DOFSUB07, DOFSUB08 and DOFSUB09. If the
bondholders' meetings do not give their approval, the new parent company will
instead be a new Norwegian holding company to be incorporated by the financial
creditors. Consequently, the matter to be considered by the bondholders will
only comprise the identity of the new parent company in the group. The new
holding company of the group will be applied for listing on Oslo Børs in due
course.
As communicated in the stock exchange announcement on 27 January 2023, the new
Board of DOF has, in addition to seeking alternative solutions to the
Restructuring, assessed the solvency of DOF ASA in a bankruptcy scenario. The
Board has in this respect obtained and assessed independent valuations of the
Group's vessels. The shipbrokers Fearnleys and Clarkson have assessed the value
of the Group's vessels. The advisory firm Deloitte has reviewed these and
assessed them against the company's debt, other liabilities and available liquid
assets in an insolvency liquidation analysis (i.e. a bankruptcy scenario).
Deloitte has also assessed the value of the Group's other activities, including
the shares in DOFCON and the engineering services, also in an insolvency
liquidation analysis. The final report from Deloitte has now been obtained and
the Board has on this basis concluded that, even though there is likely positive
value in DOF ASA in a going concern scenario, there is no basis to contest that
DOF ASA will be insolvent in event of a bankruptcy.
Upon a bankruptcy in DOF ASA, the share capital of the Company will be lost and
there will not be any value left to the shareholders. The Board highly regrets
this result. However, although the bankruptcy will result in shareholder losses,
the process that will follow is structured to avoid any interruption to the
ongoing operations of the Group and to avoid losses for the Group's customers,
suppliers and other trade creditors.
For further information, please contact:
Chairman: Leif Chr. Salomonsen, tel: 992 42 888
CEO Mons Aase, tel. +47 91 66 10 12
CFO Hilde Drønen, tel. +47 91 66 10 09
This information is considered to be inside information pursuant to the EU
Market Abuse Regulation, and is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant
to Section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. The stock exchange
announcement was published by Hilde Drønen, CFO, DOF ASA.
With a multi-national workforce of about 3,800 personnel, DOF ASA is an
international group of companies which owns and operates a fleet of modern
offshore/subsea vessels, and engineering capacity to service both the offshore
and subsea market. With over 40 years in the offshore business, the group has a
strong position in terms of experience, innovation, product range, technology
and capacity. DOF's core businesses are vessel ownership, vessel management,
project management, engineering, vessel operations, survey, remote intervention
and diving operations primarily for the oil and gas sector. From PSV charter to
Subsea engineering, DOF offers a full spectrum of top quality offshore services
to facilitate an ever-growing and demanding industry.
The company's main operation centers and business units are located in Norway,
the UK, the USA, Singapore, Brazil, Argentina, Canada, Angola, and Australia.
DOF ASA is listed on the Oslo Exchange since 1997.
Historical OSE Notices
DOF ASA: Court requested to open bankruptcy proceedings. Insolvency will not be contested by Board. Financial restructuring continues, ensuring continued operation of all other DOF group companies
February 1, 2023
Styret i DOF ASA har mottatt en epost fra en gruppe aksjonærer (Gruppen) med
krav om at det blir innkalt til ekstraordinær generalforsamling. Rekonstruktøren
har varslet at han nå forholder seg til at han innen kl. 11:00 1. februar 2023
må kunne formidle til kreditorene at et tilstrekkelig antall aksjonærer vil
stemme for styrets forslag til rekonstruksjon.
Dersom det ikke skjer er det styrets forståelse at rekonstruktøren vil be
Hordaland tingrett om å innstille rekonstruksjonsprosessen og åpne konkurs i DOF
ASA.
Gruppen som krever innkalt ekstraordinær generalforsamling, ber blant annet om
at valg av nytt styre blir satt på agendaen. Navn på nye styremedlemmer er
foreløpig ikke opplyst. Henvendelsen er uklar på flere punkter og styret har
bedt om en klargjøring fra forslagsstillerne.
Henvendelsen kan imidlertid tolkes som at aksjonærer i Gruppen ikke vil støtte
styrets forslag til rekonstruksjon. Forslaget innebærer at dagens aksjonærer vil
beholde 3,75 prosent av aksjene i et restrukturert og refinansiert DOF.
- Aksjonærene er i sin fulle rett til å kreve valg av nytt styre, men styret
forstår ikke hvorfor de skulle avvise styrets forslag til rekonstruksjon. Styret
ønsker dialog om veien videre, men gruppen har ved flere anledninger avvist
dette og tilbudet om å få mer informasjon slik de flere ganger har bedt om, sier
Leif Chr. Salomonsen, styreleder i DOF ASA.
Som kjent har styret mottatt verdivurderinger som peker i retning av at DOF ASA
er insolvent. Selskapet vil derfor gå konkurs dersom forslaget til
rekonstruksjon ikke blir godkjent.
Virksomheten i DOF Services AS og dets datterselskaper vil være upåvirket av en
konkurs i morselskapet DOF ASA. All operativ virksomhet vil derfor fortsette som
før. Det er dagens aksjonærer som vil tape alt ved en konkurs.
Selskapets hovedaksjonær som representerer 31,6 prosent av aksjene, har meddelt
støtte til styrets forslag. Gruppen som nå krever ekstraordinær
generalforsamling, representerer etter det styret forstår ca. 13 prosent av
aksjene. De har således ikke nok innflytelse til alene å sende selskapet inn i
en konkurs.
- Vi er nå inne i en siste avgjørende og kritisk fase av rekonstruksjonen av DOF
ASA. Det er veldig viktig at alle aksjonærer som er interessert i å redde sine
aksjonærverdier setter seg grundig inn i styrets forslag. Det er et faktum at
konsernet har ca. 25 milliarder kroner i gjeld som det, i det alt vesentlige,
ikke har vært betalt verken renter eller avdrag på i over to år. Vi er allerede
på overtid og trenger en løsning nå, sier Salomonsen.
For å ha størst mulig sannsynlighet for at de finansielle kreditorene godtar
styrets forslag til restrukturering, er styret avhengig av å kunne dokumentere
at forslaget vil oppnå tilstrekkelig støtte fra dagens aksjonærer i DOF ASA.
Styret ber derfor alle aksjonærer som støtter forslaget om å gi uttrykk for
dette gjennom følgende fremgangsmåte:
Aksjonærer bes sende en epost til dof@grette.no, med teksten «Jeg/vi bekrefter
med dette at jeg/vi støtter styrets forslag til rekonstruksjonsplan hvor dagens
aksjonærer etter rekonstruksjonen vil ha en eierandel i det reorganiserte
selskapet på ca. 3,75 %»
I eposten bes i tillegg opplyst navn (ev. navn på selskapet aksjene eies
gjennom), antall aksjer eid pr. 31. januar 2023 og telefonnummer.
Det er viktig at eposten er selskapet i hende innen kl. 11.00, 1. februar 2023.
For ytterligere informasjon, vennligst kontakt:
Styrets leder: Leif Chr. Salomonsen, tel.: +47 992 42 888
With a multi-national workforce of about 3,900 personnel, DOF ASA is an
international group of companies which owns and operates a fleet of modern
offshore/subsea vessels, and engineering capacity to service both the offshore
and subsea market. With 40 years in the offshore business, the group has a
strong position in terms of experience, innovation, product range, technology
and capacity.
DOF's core businesses are vessel ownership, vessel management, project
management, engineering, vessel operations, survey, remote intervention and
diving operations primarily for the oil and gas sector. From PSV charter to
Subsea engineering, DOF offers a full spectrum of top quality offshore services
to facilitate an ever-growing and demanding industry.
The company's main operation centers and business units are located in Norway,
the UK, the USA, Singapore, Brazil, Argentina, Canada, Angola, and Australia.
DOF ASA is listed on the Oslo Exchange since 1997.
Historical OSE Notices
DOF ASA - Rekonstruksjon
January 31, 2023
The board of DOF ASA has received an e-mail from a Group of shareholders (the
Group) demanding that an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders be
convened. The reconstructor has notified that he now considers 11 am on 1
February 2023 as the deadline for him to inform creditors that a sufficient
number of shareholders will vote for the board's proposal.
If the creditors are not provided any such assurance, it is the board's
understanding that the reconstructor will ask the Hordaland district court to
terminate the reconstruction process and open bankruptcy in DOF ASA.
The Group, which demands an extraordinary general meeting, asks, inter alia,
that the election of a new board be put on the agenda. Names of new board
members have not yet been announced. The request from the Group is unclear on
several points and the board has asked the Group for clarifications.
However, the request can be interpreted in the direction that shareholders in
the Group will not support the board's proposal for reconstruction. The proposal
implies that the current shareholders will retain 3.75 per cent of the shares in
a restructured and refinanced DOF.
"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," says Leif Chr. Salomonsen, chair of
DOF ASA.
As communicated in the stock announcement dated 27 January 2022, the board has
received valuations which point in the direction of DOF ASA being insolvent. The
company will therefore go bankrupt if the proposal for reconstruction is not
approved.
The operations of DOF Services AS and its subsidiaries will be unaffected by a
bankruptcy in the parent company DOF ASA. All operational activities will
therefore continue as before. It is today's shareholders who will lose
everything in a bankruptcy.
The company's main shareholder, who represents 31.6 per cent of the shares, has
announced its support for the board's proposal. The Group that is now demanding
an extraordinary general meeting represents, according to the board's
understanding, approx. 13 percent of the shares. Accordingly, the Group does not
have enough influence alone to send the company into bankruptcy.
"We are now in a final and decisive phase of the reconstruction of DOF ASA. It
is very important that all shareholders who are interested in saving their
shareholder values study the board's proposal thoroughly. It is a fact that DOF
ASA has approx. NOK 25 billion in debt, on which neither interest nor
instalments have been paid for over two years. It is urgent to find a solution
now," says Salomonsen.
To maximise the chance of the financial creditors accepting the board's proposal
for restructuring, the board must document that a sufficient amount of the
current shareholders of DOF ASA will support its proposal. The board therefore
asks all shareholders who support the proposal to express this through the
following procedure:
Shareholders are asked to send an e-mail to dof@grette.no, with the text "I/we
hereby confirm that I/we support the board's proposal for a reconstruction plan
according to which, after the reconstruction, the current shareholders will have
a stake in the reorganised company of approx. 3.75 per cent"
In the e-mail, shareholders are also asked to state their name (if applicable,
the name of the company through which the shares are owned), the number of
shares owned as of 31 January 2023, and telephone number.
It is important that the company receives the e-mail by 11 am, 1 February 2023.
For further information, please contact:
Chairman: Leif Chr. Salomonsen, tlf.: 992 42 888
With a multi-national workforce of about 3,900 personnel, DOF ASA is an
international group of companies which owns and operates a fleet of modern
offshore/subsea vessels, and engineering capacity to service both the offshore
and subsea market. With 40 years in the offshore business, the group has a
strong position in terms of experience, innovation, product range, technology
and capacity.
DOF's core businesses are vessel ownership, vessel management, project
management, engineering, vessel operations, survey, remote intervention and
diving operations primarily for the oil and gas sector. From PSV charter to
Subsea engineering, DOF offers a full spectrum of top quality offshore services
to facilitate an ever-growing and demanding industry.
The company's main operation centers and business units are located in Norway,
the UK, the USA, Singapore, Brazil, Argentina, Canada, Angola, and Australia.
DOF ASA is listed on the Oslo Exchange since 1997.
Historical OSE Notices
DOF ASA - Reconstruction
January 31, 2023
Styret i DOF ASA har besluttet å oversende forslag til rekonstruksjonsplan til
rekonstruktøren og konsernets finansielle kreditorer og vil utarbeide en
innkalling til ekstraordinær generalforsamling for å behandle dette forslaget
forutsatt at de finansielle kreditorene og rekonstruktøren støtter forslaget.
Rekonstruksjonsplanen vil nå bli forelagt de finansielle kreditorene for
godkjenning. Samtidig vil styret arbeide for å dokumentere tilslutning til
planen fra et tilstrekkelig antall aksjonærer. Planen har allerede fått
tilslutning fra Møgster Offshore AS som eier ca. 31,6 prosent av aksjene i DOF
ASA.
· Styrets forslag innebærer at eksisterende aksjonærer vil eie 3,75% av et DOF
ASA styrket etter gjeldskonvertering. Selskapet vil videreføre sin virksomhet og
aksjonærene vil beholde en andel av verdiskapingen som mange forventer vil skje
i tiden som kommer.
· Basert på forutgående sonderinger, anser styret at det nå foreliggende
forslaget er et rimelig kompromiss som bør få tilstrekkelig flertall blant
selskapets kreditorer og aksjonærer.
· Dersom forslaget ikke blir vedtatt vil det ikke være utsikt til at selskapet
vil kunne oppnå en rekonstruksjon og retten vil etter innberetning om dette fra
rekonstruksjonsutvalget trolig åpne konkurs. Virksomheten vil imidlertid drives
videre som i dag gjennom datterselskapet DOF Service AS og dets underliggende
selskaper. Aksjonærverdiene vil imidlertid med overveiende sannsynlighet være
tapt.
Forslaget til rekonstruksjon baserer seg på restruktureringsavtalen som ble
fremforhandlet mellom selskapet og kreditorene og nedstemt på ekstraordinær
generalforsamling 11. november 2022.
Et sentralt punkt i restruktureringsavtalen er hvor stor eierandel selskapets
eksisterende aksjonærer skal beholde etter at gjeld er konvertert til
egenkapital. Det opprinnelige forslaget ville innebære at aksjonærene ville eie
fire prosent av aksjene i selskapet. Etter at dette forslaget ble nedstemt, lå
det an til at aksjonærene ville ende opp med en eierandel på én prosent.
Forslaget som styret nå har oversendt innebærer at de eksisterende aksjonærene
etter gjeldskonvertering vil eie 3,75 prosent av selskapets aksjer. Forslaget er
ellers identisk med det forrige forslaget.
- Styret fremmer dette forslaget til rekonstruksjon etter grundige overveiinger
og utstrakt kontakt med kreditorer og aksjonærer. Styret mener det ville være
umulig å oppnå tilstrekkelig tilslutning blant aksjonærene for en løsning der de
kun ville eie én prosent av selskapet etter gjeldskonvertering. Likeledes vil
det etter styrets mening være umulig å oppnå aksept blant kreditorene for mer
enn 3,75 prosent til de eksisterende aksjonærene, sier Leif Chr. Salomonsen,
styreleder i DOF ASA.
Det nye styrets arbeid
På generalforsamlingen 14. desember 2022 valgte aksjonærene i DOF ASA nytt
styre. Det nye styret noterte seg at toneangivende aksjonærer mente de ikke
hadde tilstrekkelig informasjon til å ta stilling til det fremlagte forslaget om
restrukturering.
Det nye styret startet derfor umiddelbart arbeidet med å få oversikt over
relevant og oppdatert informasjon om situasjonen i selskapet, herunder spesielt
verdivurderinger og vurderinger av likviditet og fremtidig kontantstrøm.
Parallelt utredet styret om det kunne være mulig å oppnå enighet med de
finansielle kreditorene om alternative løsninger som ville kunne gi aksjonærene
en større andel av selskapets verdier og fremtidig verdiskaping enn det
opprinnelige forslaget.
Styret har i perioden hatt jevnlig kontakt og møter med representanter for
selskapets aksjonærer og for selskapets kreditorer og deres rådgivere. Målet med
denne kontakten og møtene har vært å sondere muligheten for andre løsninger,
herunder blant annet refinansiering av gjelden, salg av skip og emisjon.
Dessverre har ingen av disse løsningene latt seg realisere.
Veien videre
Basert på forutgående sonderinger, anser styret at det nå foreliggende forslaget
er et rimelig kompromiss som bør få tilstrekkelig flertall blant selskapets
kreditorer og aksjonærer. Selskapets hovedaksjonær har bekreftet støtte til
planen under forutsetning av at kreditorene gir sin tilslutning.
Styret vil i dagene som kommer søke å innhente ytterligere forhåndsaksepter fra
aksjonærer. Samtidig forbereder selskapet en nærmere redegjørelse av selskapets
resultat og kontantstrøm i fjerde kvartal og for året 2022 som helhet og
balanseverdier per 31. desember 2022. Dette er informasjon som vil bli gjort
tilgjengelig for markedet før den ekstraordinære generalforsamlingen.
Ingen garantert løsning
Selv om det anses som mulig at styrets forslag vil kunne oppnå tilstrekkelig
støtte fra aksjonærer og kreditorer, understreker styret at det ikke kan
utstedes noen garanti for at løsningen aksepteres.
I den situasjonen selskapet nå er, kan selskapets finansielle kreditorer når som
helst meddele rekonstruktøren at de ikke vil bidra til en løsning som den som
foreslås av styret. I så fall vil rekonstruktøren be Hordaland tingrett om å
innstille rekonstruksjonsprosessen og åpne konkurs i DOF ASA. Dersom løsningen
ikke oppnår tilstrekkelig flertall blant aksjonærene, vil resultatet være det
samme.
Det vil da være opp til Hordaland Tingrett å vurdere om det er grunnlag for å
slå DOF ASA konkurs.
Solvens eller ikke
Det avgjørende for Hordaland tingretts konklusjon vil være om det, basert på
blant annet innberetningen fra rekonstruksjonsutvalget, er utsikt til at DOF ASA
vil kunne oppnå en rekonstruksjon. Hvorvidt selskapet er solvent eller ikke er i
utgangspunktet ikke avgjørende.
For det tilfelle at retten likevel vil se nærmere på solvensspørsmålet vil den
se hen til hvorvidt verdien av eiendelene til DOF ASA (det vil si aksjer i
datterselskapet DOF Services AS) er mer verdt enn gjelden i DOF ASA, samt
likviditeten. Dette spørsmålet vil i praksis bero på om verdiene av eiendelene
til DOF-konsernet som kan realiseres i en konkurs er større enn gjelden. Det er
altså ikke verdien av eiendelene i DOF som going concern det handler om.
For å belyse dette spørsmålet har styret i DOF ASA innhentet og vurdert
uavhengige vurderinger av verdiene i DOF-konsernet. Skipsmeglerne Fearnleys og
Clarkson har vurdert verdien på DOF-konsernets skip. Rådgivingsselskapet
Deloitte har gjennomgått disse og vurdert de opp mot selskapets gjeld, andre
forpliktelser og tilgjengelige likvide midler. Deloitte har også vurdert verdien
på DOF-konsernets øvrige virksomhet, herunder eierandelen i DOFCON og prosjekt-
og engineering-virksomheten.
Vurderingene som nå foreligger, er basert på skipsverdier per 31. desember 2022.
De viser at skipsverdiene i amerikanske dollar har økt siden 31. september 2022.
En svakere dollar har motsatt effekt, og fjerner mye av verdiøkningen målt i
kroner. Svakere dollar reduserer imidlertid også kroneverdien av selskapets
gjeld.
Endelig rapport fra Deloitte foreligger fortsatt ikke. Styret har derfor ikke
endelig kunnet konkludere hvorvidt selskapet vil være å anse som insolvent, men
anser det som sannsynlig.
Styrets anbefaling
Dersom tingretten åpner konkurs i DOF ASA vil kreditorene overta alle verdier i
DOF ASA og aksjonærene tape alt. Selv om Hordaland tingrett likevel ikke skulle
åpne konkurs i DOF ASA, vil garantiansvaret som DOF ASA har på vegne av sine
datterselskap bestå. Det er således helt usannsynlig at aksjonærene i noe
scenario ville kunne få mer verdier enn styrets foreslåtte løsning..
Basert på ovenstående analyser og vurderinger er det styrets klare oppfatning at
den beste løsningen for selskapet og for samtlige av selskapets interessenter,
aksjonærer så vel som kreditorer, vil være at styrets forslag til rekonstruksjon
blir gjennomført.
- Styret skulle gjerne sett at aksjonærene fikk beholde en større del av
selskapet enn det forslaget legger opp til. Dersom man hadde kunnet stille
klokken tilbake og startet forhandlingene med kreditorene på nytt i dag, så
hadde det kanskje vært mulig. Det er imidlertid et faktum at konsernet har ca.
25 milliarder kroner i gjeld som det, i det alt vesentlige, ikke har vært betalt
verken renter eller avdrag på i over to år, sier Salomonsen.
- Vi er allerede på overtid og trenger en løsning nå. Selskapet har levd på
kreditorenes nåde i lang tid. Med styrets forslag vil eksisterende aksjonærer
eie 3,75% av et styrket DOF ASA, selskapet vil videreføre sin virksomhet og
aksjonærene vil få ta del i den verdiskapingen som mange forventer vil skje i
tiden som kommer, konkluderer Salomonsen.
For ytterligere informasjon, vennligst kontakt:
Styrets leder: Leif Chr. Salomonsen, tel.: +47 992 42 888
With a multi-national workforce of about 3,900 personnel, DOF ASA is an
international group of companies which owns and operates a fleet of modern
offshore/subsea vessels, and engineering capacity to service both the offshore
and subsea market. With 40 years in the offshore business, the group has a
strong position in terms of experience, innovation, product range, technology
and capacity.
DOF's core businesses are vessel ownership, vessel management, project
management, engineering, vessel operations, survey, remote intervention and
diving operations primarily for the oil and gas sector. From PSV charter to
Subsea engineering, DOF offers a full spectrum of top quality offshore services
to facilitate an ever-growing and demanding industry.
The company's main operation centers and business units are located in Norway,
the UK, the USA, Singapore, Brazil, Argentina, Canada, Angola, and Australia.
DOF ASA is listed on the Oslo Exchange since 1997.
Historical OSE Notices
Forslag til rekonstruksjonsplan
January 27, 2023
The board of directors of DOF ASA has decided to submit a proposal for a
restructuring plan to the reconstructor and the DOF group's financial creditors
and will prepare a notice convening an extraordinary general meeting to consider
this proposal, provided that the financial creditors and the reconstructor
support the proposal.
The restructuring plan will now be submitted to the financial creditors for
approval. At the same time, the Board will work to document support for the plan
from a sufficient number of shareholders. The plan has already received support
from Møgster Offshore AS, which owns approximately 31.6 percent of the shares in
DOF ASA.
· The Board's proposal means that the existing shareholders will own 3.75% of
a strengthened DOF ASA after debt conversion. The company will continue its
operations and the shareholders will retain a share of the value creation that
many expect will occur going forward.
· Based on preceding dialogue, the Board considers that the current proposal
is a reasonable compromise that should receive a sufficient majority among the
company's creditors and shareholders.
· If the proposal is not adopted, there will be no prospect that the company
will be able to achieve a reconstruction and the court will probably open
bankruptcy after a report from the reconstruction committee. The business will
continue to operate as today through the subsidiary DOF Service AS and its
underlying companies. However, shareholder value will in all likelihood be lost.
The restructuring proposal is based on the restructuring agreement that was
negotiated between the company and the creditors and voted down at the
extraordinary general meeting on 11 November 2022.
A key point in the restructuring agreement is how much of the company the
existing shareholders should retain after debt has been converted to equity. The
original proposal would have meant that shareholders would own 4 percent of the
shares in the company. After this proposal was voted down, it was likely that
the shareholders would end up with a 1 percent stake.
The proposal that the board has now submitted means that the existing
shareholders will own 3.75 per cent of the company's shares after debt
conversion. The proposal is otherwise identical to the previous proposal.
- The Board is submitting this proposal for reconstruction after careful
consideration and extensive contact with creditors and shareholders. The Board
of Directors believes that it would be impossible to obtain sufficient support
among shareholders for a solution where they would only own 1 percent of the
company after debt conversion. Similarly, the Board believes that it would be
impossible to achieve acceptance among the creditors for more than 3.75 percent
to the existing shareholders, says Leif Chr. Salomonsen, Chairman of the Board
of DOF ASA.
The work of the new board
At the Annual General Meeting on 14 December 2022, the shareholders of DOF ASA
elected a new Board of Directors. The new Board of Directors noted that leading
shareholders felt that they did not have sufficient information to take a
position on the restructuring proposal presented.
The new board therefore immediately started the work of obtaining an overview of
relevant and updated information about the situation in the company, including
in particular valuations and assessments of liquidity and future cash flow. In
parallel, the board investigated whether it might be possible to obtain
agreement with the financial creditors for any alternative solutions that could
give shareholders a larger share of the company's assets and future value
creation than the original proposal.
In this period, the board has had regular contact and meetings with
representatives of the company's shareholders and the company's creditors and
their advisers. The aim of these contacts and meetings has been to explore the
possibility of other solutions, including refinancing of the debt, sale of ships
and a share issuance. Unfortunately, none of these solutions have been possible
to realize.
The way forward
Based on preceding dialogue, the Board considers that the current proposal is a
reasonable compromise that should receive a sufficient majority among the
company's creditors and shareholders. The company's main shareholder has
confirmed support for the plan subject to the creditors' approval.
In the coming days, the Board will seek to obtain further pre-acceptances from
shareholders. At the same time, the company is preparing a more detailed
statement of the company's results and cash flow in the fourth quarter and for
the year 2022 as a whole and balance sheet values as of 31 December 2022. This
information will be made available to the market prior to the Extraordinary
General Meeting.
No guaranteed solution
While it is considered possible that the Board's proposal will be able to obtain
sufficient support from shareholders and creditors, the Board stresses that
there are no guarantees that the solution will be accepted.
In the current situation of the company, the company's financial creditors could
at any time notify the reconstructor that they will not contribute to a solution
such as the one proposed by the board. In that case, the reconstructor will ask
Hordaland District Court to suspend the restructuring process and open
bankruptcy in DOF ASA. If the solution does not achieve a sufficient majority
among the shareholders, the result will be the same.
It will then be up to Hordaland District Court to assess whether there are
grounds for declaring DOF ASA bankrupt.
Solvent or not
The decisive factor for Hordaland District Court's conclusion will be whether,
based on, inter alia, the report from the reconstruction committee, it is likely
that DOF ASA will be able to achieve a restructuring. Whether the company is
solvent or not is in principle not decisive.
In the event that the court nevertheless decides to look further into the
solvency issue, it will consider whether the value of the assets of DOF ASA
(i.e. shares in the subsidiary DOF Services AS) is worth more than the debt in
DOF ASA, as well as the liquidity. In practice, this question will depend on
whether the value of the assets of the DOF Group that can be realised in a
bankruptcy is greater than the debt. Thus, it is not the value of the assets of
DOF as a going concern that is at issue.
In order to shed light on this question, the Board of Directors of DOF ASA has
obtained and assessed independent valuations of the DOF Group's assets. The
shipbrokers Fearnleys and Clarkson have assessed the value of the DOF Group's
vessels. The advisory firm Deloitte has reviewed these and assessed them against
the company's debt, other liabilities and available liquid assets. Deloitte has
also assessed the value of the DOF Group's other activities, including the
shares in DOFCON and the engineering services.
The assessments now available are based on vessel values as of 31 December 2022.
They show that vessel values in US dollars have increased since 31 September
2022. A weaker dollar has had the opposite effect, removing much of the increase
in value measured in NOK. However, a weaker dollar also reduces the krone value
of the company's debt.
The final report from Deloitte is still pending. The Board of Directors has
therefore not been able to reach a final conclusion as to whether the company
will be considered insolvent, but considers it probable.
The Board's recommendation
If the district court opens bankruptcy in DOF ASA, the creditors will take over
all assets in DOF ASA and the shareholders will lose everything. Even if
Hordaland District Court does not open bankruptcy in DOF ASA, the guarantee
liability that DOF ASA has on behalf of its subsidiaries will remain. It is thus
completely unlikely that the shareholders in any scenario could receive more
value than the Board's proposed solution.
Based on the above analyses and assessments, it is the Board's clear opinion
that the best solution for the company and for all of the company's
stakeholders, shareholders as well as creditors, will be that the Board's
proposal for reconstruction is implemented.
- The Board would have liked to see the shareholders retain a larger share of
the company than the reconstruction suggests. If it had been possible to turn
back the clock and restart negotiations with the creditors today, this might
have been possible. However, it is a fact that the DOF Group has approximately
NOK 25 billion in debt on which, for the most part, neither interest nor
instalments have been paid for more than two years, says Salomonsen.
- "We are already in overtime and need a solution now. The company has been
living at the mercy of its creditors for a long time. With the Board's proposal,
the existing shareholders will own 3.75% of a strengthened DOF ASA, the company
will continue its operations and the shareholders will participate in the value
creation that many expect will take place in the time to come, Salomonsen
concludes.
For further information, please contact:
Chairman: Leif Chr. Salomonsen, tlf.: 992 42 888
With a multi-national workforce of about 3,900 personnel, DOF ASA is an
international group of companies which owns and operates a fleet of modern
offshore/subsea vessels, and engineering capacity to service both the offshore
and subsea market. With 40 years in the offshore business, the group has a
strong position in terms of experience, innovation, product range, technology
and capacity.
DOF's core businesses are vessel ownership, vessel management, project
management, engineering, vessel operations, survey, remote intervention and
diving operations primarily for the oil and gas sector. From PSV charter to
Subsea engineering, DOF offers a full spectrum of top quality offshore services
to facilitate an ever-growing and demanding industry.
The company's main operation centers and business units are located in Norway,
the UK, the USA, Singapore, Brazil, Argentina, Canada, Angola, and Australia.
DOF ASA is listed on the Oslo Exchange since 1997.
Historical OSE Notices
Proposal for a restructuring plan
January 27, 2023
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