Settlement notification and result in the recommended voluntary cash offer to acquire all issued and outstanding shares of Belships ASA
08 March 2025 - 3:44AM
UK Regulatory
Settlement notification and result in the recommended voluntary
cash offer to acquire all issued and outstanding shares of Belships
ASA
NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN
PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, INTO OR WITHIN CANADA, AUSTRALIA, NEW
ZEALAND, SOUTH AFRICA, JAPAN, HONG KONG, SOUTH KOREA, OR ANY
JURISDICTION IN WHICH THE RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION
WOULD BE UNLAWFUL.
Oslo, 7 March 2025
Reference is made to the stock exchange announcement published
on 21 January 2025 regarding the launch by Blue Northern BLK Ltd
("Blue Northern" or the "Offeror") of a recommended voluntary cash
tender offer for all issued and outstanding shares (the "Shares")
in Belships ASA ("Belships" or the "Company") at a price of NOK
20.50 per share (the "Offer"), as further set out in the offer
document dated 21 January 2025 (the "Offer Document").
The acceptance period for the Offer expired on 7 March 2025 at
16:30 (CET).
As set out in the stock exchange announcement published on 21
February 2025, the condition for completion of the Offer relating
to "Minimum Acceptance", as set out in Section 2.8 ("Conditions for
Completion of the Offer") of the Offer Document, has been
satisfied.
As of the expiry of the acceptance period, and subject to
customary verification, the Offeror has received acceptances of the
Offer for a total of 247,397,367 Shares, representing approximately
97.9% of the Company's issued and outstanding share capital
(excluding treasury shares owned by the Company). The Offeror
currently does not own any Shares.
Settlement of the Offer will take place pursuant to the terms
and conditions set out in the Offer Document no later than on 28
March 2025, being 15 business days after the expiry of the
acceptance period, subject to the remaining closing conditions as
set out in Section 2.8 ("Conditions for completion of the Offer")
of the Offer Document remaining fulfilled or having been waived by
the Offeror. This announcement constitutes the “Settlement
Notification” pursuant to Section 2.8 ("Conditions for completion
of the Offer") and Section 2.15 ("Settlement") of the Offer
Document.
Following completion of the Offer, the Offeror intends to carry
out a compulsory acquisition of the remaining Shares pursuant to
Section 4-25 of the Norwegian Public Limited Liability Companies
Act and Section 6-22 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.
Following the compulsory acquisition, the Offeror will pursue a
delisting of the Shares from the Oslo Stock Exchange. A separate
stock exchange announcement will be published regarding the timing
of the delisting.
Advisors
ABG Sundal Collier ASA is acting as financial advisor while
Advokatfirmaet BAHR AS and Watson Farley & Williams are acting
as legal advisors to the Offeror and its affiliates. Fearnley
Securities AS is acting as financial advisor while Wikborg Rein
Advokatfirma AS is acting as legal advisor to the Company.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
The Offer and the distribution of this announcement and other
information in connection with the Offer may be restricted by law
in certain jurisdictions. When published, the Offer Document and
related acceptance forms will not and may not be distributed,
forwarded or transmitted into or within any jurisdiction where
prohibited by applicable law, including, without limitation,
Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Hong Kong, South
Korea and Japan, or any other jurisdiction in which such would be
unlawful. The Offeror does not assume any responsibility in the
event there is a violation by any person of such restrictions.
Persons in the United States should review "Notice to U.S. Holders"
below. Persons into whose possession this announcement or such
other information should come are required to inform themselves
about and to observe any such restrictions.
This announcement is for information purposes only and is not a
tender offer document and, as such, is not intended to does not
constitute or form any part of an offer or the solicitation of an
offer to purchase, otherwise acquire, subscribe for, sell or
otherwise dispose of any securities, or the solicitation of any
vote or approval in any jurisdiction, pursuant to the Offer or
otherwise. Investors may accept the Offer only on the basis of the
information provided in the Offer Document. Offers will not be made
directly or indirectly in any jurisdiction where either an offer or
participation therein is prohibited by applicable law or where any
tender offer document or registration or other requirements would
apply in addition to those undertaken in Norway.
Notice to U.S. Holders
U.S. Holders (as defined below) are advised that the Shares are
not listed on a U.S. securities exchange and that Belships is not
subject to the periodic reporting requirements of the U.S.
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "U.S. Exchange
Act"), and is not required to, and does not, file any reports with
the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") thereunder.
The Offer will be made to holders of Shares resident in the United
States ("U.S. Holders") on the same terms and conditions as those
made to all other holders of Shares of Belships to whom an offer is
made. Any information documents, including the Offer Document, will
be disseminated to U.S. Holders on a basis comparable to the method
that such documents are provided to Belships' other Shareholders to
whom an offer is made. The Offer will be made by the Offeror and no
one else.
The Offer will be made to U.S. Holders pursuant to Section 14(e)
and Regulation 14E under the U.S. Exchange Act as a "Tier II"
tender offer, and otherwise in accordance with the requirements of
Norwegian law. Accordingly, the Offer will be subject to disclosure
and other procedural requirements timetable, settlement procedures
and timing of payments, that are different from those that would be
applicable under U.S. domestic tender offer procedures and law.
Pursuant to an exemption from Rule 14e-5 under the U.S. Exchange
Act, the Offeror and its affiliates or brokers (acting as agents
for the Offeror or its affiliates, as applicable) may from time to
time, and other than pursuant to the Offer, directly or indirectly,
purchase or arrange to purchase, Shares or any securities that are
convertible into, exchangeable for or exercisable for such Shares
outside the United States during the period in which the Offer
remains open for acceptance, so long as those acquisitions or
arrangements comply with applicable Norwegian law and practice and
the provisions of such exemption. To the extent information about
such purchases or arrangements to purchase is made public in
Norway, such information will be disclosed by means of an English
language press release via an electronically operated information
distribution system in the United States or other means reasonably
calculated to inform U.S. Holders of such information. To the
extent that the Offeror discloses any information about any
purchases of Shares or any related securities outside of the tender
offer in Norway, it will publicly disclose the same information in
the United States. If the consideration paid by the Offeror
or its affiliates in any transaction after the public announcement
of the tender offer is greater than the tender offer price, the
tender offer price shall be increased to match that price. In
addition, the financial advisors to the Offeror may also engage in
ordinary course trading activities in securities of Belships, which
may include purchases or arrangements to purchase such
securities.
Neither the SEC nor any securities supervisory authority of any
state or other jurisdiction in the United States has approved or
disapproved the Offer or reviewed it for its fairness, nor have the
contents of the Offer Document or any other documentation relating
to the Offer been reviewed for accuracy, completeness or fairness
by the SEC or any securities supervisory authority in the United
States. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offence in
the United States.
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