Investors Give Kleven a Boost
A group of investors has pumped nearly $40 million into Norwegian shipbuilder Kleven.
Norwegian cruise, ferry and cargo operator Hurtigruten and its owners, Petter A. Stordalen and TDR, will be the largest partner in the newly established company, with a 40 percent share. Current owners, John Kleven AS and H-Invest AS are bringing new funds to the company. Additional investors include Åge Remøy and Magnus Roth's InYard Invest, Lürssen-Group, and Per Lillebø.
"It has been important for us to bring in new investors with an industrial, long term perspective, and with a shared ambition to further develop Kleven to be a world leading shipbuilding group," said Kjersti Kleven, Chair of the Board of Kleven.
Kleven is currently building hybrid powered expedition vessels MS Roald Amundsen and MS Fridtjof Nansen for Hurtigruten.
“Kleven was the best candidate for building our new expedition vessels. This shows that the shipbuilding group is world class. Now we are strengthening Kleven, the region and Norwegian shipbuilding industry for the future and this permits further growth,” said Hurtigruten CEO, Daniel Skjeldam.
In addition to being one of the new investors, superyacht designer and builder Lürssen also entered into a long term cooperation agreement with Kleven earlier this year.
“We are pleased to see the interest there has been in investing in Kleven. This is a solid and longterm solution, creating opportunities for new and innovative projects,” said Kleven CEO, Ståle Rasmussen.
The refinancing process is close to being complete, with some formal conditions pending, including final approval from the company’s banks and GIEK.