Companies led by leading shipowners John Fredriksen and Idan Ofer, along with Wilhelmsen Holding, have launched a bid to acquire service operation vessel outfit Edda Wind and take it private
Together, Fredriksen’s Geveran Trading, Ofer’s EPS Ventures and Wilhelmsen New Energy have made an unconditional mandatory cash offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares in Edda Wind not already owned by them.
The companies state that their plan to take Edda Wind private can help it overcome what they see as some of the challenges imposed on it by being a public company. The offer is being made by Electric AS, a newly established company jointly owned by the shareholders. A cash consideration of NKr 23.00 will be offered per share, which is a premium of 32.9% compared to the closing price for the shares on 28 April 2025 of NKr 17.30. The offer is also a significant premium to the value of the company’s shares by other measures.
The offerors describe their proposal as a result of a strategic review, with focus on the ability to continue growing Edda Wind’s fleet of next-generation commissioning service operation vessels.
“A key hinderance for Edda Wind as a publicly listed company has been the concentrated ownership situation resulting in a low free float and poor stock liquidity,” they say. “Following a series of equity capital raises it has become evident to the three largest shareholders that it will be challenging to continue investing and scaling the company in a public setting.”
As part of the offer, the offeror and the shareholders intend to seek a de-listing of the shares from the Oslo Stock Exchange, a proposal that will require that a general meeting of the company resolves to apply for a de-listing with a two-thirds majority vote.
In 2024, Edda Wind grew its fleet from five to eight vessels, but as interim chief executive Hermann Øverlie noted when launching the company’s 20024 report, it has at times encountered significant challenges. In 2025, it will continue to expand its fleet, introducing four additional newbuilds. Two of these newbuilds have secured contracts upon delivery.
Edda Wind has, however, benefitted from a consistent rise in activity levels and day rates. Approximately 83% of vessel capacity for 2025 is already booked, with recent contracts indicating stable market conditions. Prices for CSOV newbuildings increased in 2024, which is expected to help maintain market equilibrium and rates in the segment of the industry in which the company specialises.
