F Selmer News

Hunter Maritime Acquisition Corp. said it has entered into definitive agreements pursuant to which it has agreed to purchase, for an aggregate purchase price of $139.4 million in cash, five identified Capesize dry bulk carriers in an en-bloc transaction from five Cyprus-based companies affiliated with one or more members of the Oskar Wehr group of companies of Hamburg, Germany. The vessels were built by Chinese shipyard New Times Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. and consist of MV Charlotte Selmer (2011), MV Greta Selmer (2011), MV Tom Selmer (2011), MV Lene Selmer (2010) and MV Hugo Selmer (2010). The vessels have a combined cargo-carrying capacity of approximately 876,352 deadweight tons and an average fleet age of approximately 6.2 years.

Norway's Offshore drilling firm Sevan Marine ASA has appointed law firm Selmer to investigate claims by Brazilian media that a former manager and agent of Sevan Marine are connected to the Brazilian authorities' investigation into corrupt activities involving Petrobras. The company has offered full co-operation and has been in contact with the relevant authorities on this matter. A statement from the company says: "Sevan Marine has recently become aware of articles in the Brazilian press which refer to a former manager and agent of Sevan Marine being named in connection with the Brazilian authorities' investigation into corrupt activities involving Petrobras and Operation Car Wash (Lava Jato).

Jan Arve Haugan has been appointed President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Kvaerner. This new engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) company is being established through a demerger of Aker Solutions. Kvaerner will be separate and listed on the Oslo stock exchange, most likely in July this year. Jan Arve Haugan started his professional career in the Norwegian construction company F. Selmer (now part of Skanska), and in 1991 he joined the Norwegian industrial group Norsk Hydro as chief engineer for the Oseberg field development as a key task. Since then he has had leading positions in many of Hydro's oil and gas projects and operations.

Bulk Carriers 04/15/10              THOR TRANSIT                  23,930                                   87(23)                                   $4.3 04/27/10              RUBIN PEARL                     26,472                                   94(16)                                   $15 04/12/10              BJ QUEEN                            26,587                                   85(25)                                   $7.1 04/12/10              HANJIN PENANG             27,365                                   97(13)                                   $18 04/19/10              ARTEMIS                              28,082                                   84(26)                                   $7 04/27/10              MOON RIVER                     28,494                   

Many Norwegian companies remain under-priced and are likely targets for foreign predators, analysts said. Despite gains in the Total index to peaks this week at around 1,300 points -- the highest so far this year -- analysts said Norwegian companies remain cheap and are natural prey for foreign bidders. "There are still crown jewels on the Oslo bourse, especially in the industrial sector," said Morten Stundstoe, chief analyst in Fondspartner. "The Oslo bourse is 10 to 15 percent under the level we believe is fair value," said another analyst. Foreign interest in Norwegian firms has picked up recently. Last Monday, Swedish constructor NCC launched a bid for Selmer.