Altor Oil Service Invest AS (Altor), a company controlled by Altor 2003 fund and Altor fund II, issued a mandatory offer on March 5 this year for all outstanding shares in AGR Group ASA at NOK 40 per share. The offer period expired yesterday at 16h30 and Altor received acceptance for 19 781 323 shares, bringing its total ownership to 53 913 249 shares, or 76.63% of the company.
“We are pleased with the result which is in line with our expectations. This provides us with a strong platform to work closely with AGR management to further develop the company going forward. AGR has attractive growth options going forward, but capturing the full value of these is likely to require more investment, time and additional managerial focus. We will therefore seek to support AGR’s existing management ahead to focus on and deliver against this strategy,” said Hugo Maurstad, Partner at Altor Equity Partners.
Altor’s plans involve focusing each of AGR’s three stand-alone business areas, disposing of non-core projects over the next 18 months, and implementing a more rigorous discipline with respect to cost and capital, all in collaboration with the company’s existing top management. During this process Altor forees several possible transactions, from which AGR would benefit strongly from the support of Altor’s experienced transaction team.
About Altor:
The Altor funds (Altor) are private equity funds comprising the “Altor 2003 Fund”, with committed capital of EUR 650 million, and the “Altor Fund II”, with committed capital of EUR 1,150 million. Altor is advised by Altor Equity Partners. Altor invests in medium sized companies in the Nordic region with a focus on value creation through growth initiatives, strategic development and operational improvements. Among Altor’s investments are Lindorff, AGR Group (listed on the Oslo stock exchange), Relacom, Ferrosan, Meyn, Aalborg Industries, PaloDEx, Navico, Byggmax, Nimbus Boats, SPT Group, PIAB, Dustin, Helly Hansen, Euro Cater, Vatus, Northstar, Wrist, Q-matic and Constructor (Aker Material Handling). Prior investments include ACO and Dynapac.