NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION, PUBLICATION OR RELEASE, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO OR FROM THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (INCLUDING ITS TERRITORIES AND POSSESSIONS, ANY STATE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA) (THE “UNITED STATES”), AUSTRALIA, CANADA, SOUTH AFRICA, THE HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION OF THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA OR JAPAN, OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN WHICH THE DISTRIBUTION, PUBLICATION OR RELEASE WOULD BE UNLAWFUL. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER OF ANY OF THE SECURITIES DESCRIBED HEREIN.
DOF Group ASA – Cancellation of subsequent offering
Oslo, 7 October 2024: Reference is made to the stock exchange announcement from DOF Group ASA (“DOF” or the “Company”) published on 3 July 2024 regarding the successful completion of a private placement raising NOK 1,064 million in gross proceeds at a price per share of NOK 99.00 (the “Private Placement”) and the contemplated subsequent offering of up to 2,014,943 shares at the same subscription price as in the Private Placement (the “Subsequent Offering”).
The Company’s shares have in recent months traded around or below the subscription price in the Private Placement at significant volumes. Following the announcement of the completion of the Private Placement, 31,835,698 of the Company’s shares (i.e. more than 15 times the size of the Subsequent Offering) have traded at or below the Subscription Price on the Oslo Stock Exchange (the volume-weighted average price per share for this volume has been NOK 91.9121). Additionally, the closing price per share today (7 October 2024) on the Oslo Stock Exchange was NOK 93.50 (i.e. well below the Subscription Price).
Existing shareholders wishing to neutralize the dilutive effect of the Private Placement, have thus had the opportunity to purchase shares in the market at prices below the price which would have been the subscription price in the Subsequent Offering.
The Company’s board of directors has therefore resolved not to proceed with the Subsequent Offering. The board of directors have in this respect also taken into account that the proceeds from the Subsequent Offering will not be required to fund the contemplated acquisition of Maersk Supply Service A/S nor for general corporate purposes.
Following cancellation of the Subsequent Offering, the separate share issue directed towards Maersk Supply Service Holding ApS (“MSSH”) in connection with, and subject to completion of, the Subsequent Offering will also be cancelled.
This information is considered to be inside information pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation and is subject to the disclosure requirements according to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. The information was submitted for publication by Hilde Drønen, CFO, on 7 October 2024 at the time set out above.
For further information, please contact:
Martin Lundberg, SVP Finance DOF Group ASA. Phone: +47 916 21 057
Eirik Vardøy, Investor Relations DOF Group ASA. Phone: +47 948 36 464
About DOF Group ASA:
With a multi-national workforce of about 4,100 personnel, DOF Group 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, 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.
Important notice:
This announcement is not and does not form a part of any offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to purchase, any securities of the Company. Copies of this announcement are not being made and may not be distributed or sent into any jurisdiction in which such distribution would be unlawful or would require registration or other measures.
The information contained in this announcement is for background purposes only and does not purport to be full or complete. No reliance may be placed for any purpose on the information contained in this announcement or its accuracy, fairness or completeness.
None of the managers for the Private Placement (the “Managers”) or any of their respective affiliates or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, advisors or agents accepts any responsibility or liability whatsoever for, or makes any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the truth, accuracy or completeness of the information in this announcement (or whether any information has been omitted from the announcement) or any other information relating to the Company, its subsidiaries or associated companies, whether written, oral or in a visual or electronic form, and howsoever transmitted or made available, or for any loss howsoever arising from any use of this announcement or its contents or otherwise arising in connection therewith.
This announcement has been prepared by and is the sole responsibility of the Company. Neither this announcement nor the information contained herein is for publication, distribution or release, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, in or into or from the United States (including its territories and possessions, any State of the United States and the District of Columbia), Australia, Canada, South Africa, The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China or Japan, or any other jurisdiction where to do so would constitute a violation of the relevant laws of such jurisdiction.
The publication, distribution or release of this announcement may be restricted by law in certain jurisdictions and persons into whose possession any document or other information referred to herein should inform themselves about and observe any such restriction. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.
The securities referred to in this announcement have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and accordingly may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission or an applicable exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act and in accordance with applicable U.S. state securities laws. The Company does not intend to register any part of the Private Placement in the United States or to conduct a public offering of securities in the United States. Any sale in the United States of the securities mentioned in this announcement will be made solely to “qualified institutional buyers” as defined in Rule 144A under the Securities Act. This announcement is an advertisement and is not a prospectus for the purposes of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2017 (the “EU Prospectus Regulation”) (together with any applicable implementing measures in any Member State).
In any EEA Member State, this communication is only addressed to and is only directed at qualified investors in that Member State within the meaning of the EU Prospectus Regulation, i.e., only to investors who can receive the offer without an approved prospectus in such EEA Member State. The “Prospectus Regulation” means Regulation (EU) 2017/1129, as amended (together with any applicable implementing measures) in any Member State.
This communication is only being distributed to and is only directed at persons in the United Kingdom that are “qualified investors” within the meaning of the EU Prospectus Regulation as it forms part of English law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 and that are (i) investment professionals falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005, as amended (the “Order”) or (ii) high net worth entities, and other persons to whom this announcement may lawfully be communicated, falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order (all such persons together being referred to as “relevant persons”). This communication must not be acted on or relied on by persons who are not relevant persons. Any investment or investment activity to which this communication relates is available only for relevant persons and will be engaged in only with relevant persons. Persons distributing this communication must satisfy themselves that it is lawful to do so.
This announcement is made by, and is the responsibility of, the Company. The Managers and their affiliates are acting exclusively for the Company and no-one else in connection with the transactions described in this announcement. They will not regard any other person as their respective clients in relation to the transactions described in this announcement and will not be responsible to anyone other than the Company, for providing the protections afforded to their respective clients, nor for providing advice in relation to the transactions described in this announcement, the contents of this announcement or any transaction, arrangement or other matter referred to herein.
The issue, subscription or purchase of shares or other financial instruments in the Company is subject to specific legal or regulatory restrictions in certain jurisdictions. Neither the Company nor the Managers assume any responsibility in the event there is a violation by any person of such restrictions. The distribution of this release may in certain jurisdictions be restricted by law. Persons into whose possession this release comes should inform themselves about and observe any such restrictions. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.
Matters discussed in this announcement may constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and may be identified by words such as “believe”, “aim”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “strategy”, “intends”, “estimate”, “will”, “may”, “continue”, “should” and similar expressions. Any forward-looking statements in this release are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions. Although the Company believes that these assumptions were reasonable when made, these assumptions are inherently subject to significant known and unknown risks, uncertainties, contingencies and other important factors which are difficult or impossible to predict, and are beyond their control. Actual events may differ significantly from any anticipated development due to a number of factors, including without limitation, changes in public sector investment levels, changes in the general economic, political and market conditions in the markets in which the Company operates, the Company’s ability to attract, retain and motivate qualified personnel, changes in the Company’s ability to engage in commercially acceptable acquisitions and strategic investments, and changes in laws and regulation and the potential impact of legal proceedings and actions. Such risks, uncertainties, contingencies and other important factors could cause actual events to differ materially from the expectations expressed or implied in this release by such forward-looking statements. The Company does not make any guarantee that the assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements in this announcement are free from errors nor does it accept any responsibility for the future accuracy of the opinions expressed in this announcement or any obligation to update or revise the statements in this announcement to reflect subsequent events. You should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements in this announcement.
The information, opinions and forward-looking statements contained in this announcement speak only as at its date, and are subject to change without notice. The Company does not undertake any obligation to review, update, confirm, or to release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that arise in relation to the content of this announcement.
This announcement is for information purposes only and is not to be relied upon in substitution for the exercise of independent judgment. It is not intended as investment advice and under no circumstances is it to be used or considered as an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or a recommendation to buy or sell any securities of the Company. Neither the Managers nor any of its affiliates accepts any liability arising from the use of this announcement.
The distribution of this announcement and other information may be restricted by law in certain jurisdictions. Persons into whose possession this announcement or such other information should come are required to inform themselves about and to observe any such restrictions.
