WORLD-WIDE SHIPPING BIDS FOR TANKER, BULK RIVAL BERGESEN

WORLD-WIDE SHIPPING BIDS FOR TANKER, BULK RIVAL BERGESEN    The World-Wide Shipping group, controlled by the Sohmen family of Hong Kong, announced on Monday a NOK10.3 billion ($1.4 billion) bid to acquire the rival tanker and bulk shipping group Bergesen d.y. ASA, based in Norway.
   World Nordic ApS, a company controlled by World-Wide Shipping, has already acquired 16.6 million A-shares in Bergesen from the main stockholders of the Norwegian group, for a total of NOK3 billion ($410 million).
   World Nordic currently holds 51.50 per cent of the votes and 44.31 per cent of the share capital in Bergesen.
   World Nordic also offered to acquire all A-shares and B-shares in the group it does not already own. The bid price represents a 28.6 percent premium to the closing price of A-shares on April 4, and a 28.8 percent premium to the price of B-shares on the same day. World Nordic will be making a mandatory cash offer for Bergesen A- and B-shares in accordance with the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.
   Since 2001, entities controlled by the Sohmen family acquired A-shares and B-shares in Bergesen. Following discussions with the principal shareholders of Bergesen — Petter C.G. Sundt and Morten Sig. Bergesen — the World-Wide Shipping group of the Sohmen family made an offer to acquire their shares, on the understanding that this offer would be extended to all shareholders in the company.
   “The offer represents a logical step towards the ongoing consolidation which is currently taking place in the shipping industry,” a spokesman for World-Wide Shipping-controlled World Nordic said. The spokesman said that the fleets of Bergesen and World-Wide Shipping are complementary, and it expects to get benefits for the group through economies of scale and cooperation.
   World Nordic intends to maintain operational headquarters in Oslo, where Bergsen is based. A management team and a separate board of directors will continue managing the Bergesen fleet, the acquiring company said.
   The period of the bid is expected to be from April 25 until May 23, World Nordic added.