Aker Maritime To Forego Kvaerner General Assembly

Norwegian oil and gas services group Aker Maritime said on Monday that it would not attend Kvaerner extraordinary general assembly on September 29. Aker Maritime has shares and options to buy shares totaling about 26 percent in Kvaerner, but it is not a major shareholder until it exercises the right to buy Kvaerner shares.

"Aker Maritime will not be a (major) shareholder (by September 29) and will therefore not participate in the extraordinary general assembly on September 29," it said in a statement. Anglo-Norwegian industry group Kvaerner has proposed to lower the threshold for mandatory offers to 30 percent from 40, which would prevent Aker Maritime from raising its stake without bidding for the rest of the company. The proposal will be voted on at the general assembly meeting. Aker Maritime said it regarded the proposal as a way to "work against and throw suspicion on Aker Maritime's plans.

As part of a bid to avoid a complicated ownership dilemma, Kvaerner has also offered 0.79 new Kvaerner share for every Aker Maritime share.