Røkke’s investment in wind and hydrogen soared 12 billion from the top – E24

The decision to merge companies is based on the perception that it increases the chances of success and opportunities to create significant value for shareholders, says Aker CEO Øyvind Eriksen to E24.

On Wednesday, Kjell Inge Røkke’s Aker System announced that listed investments in hydrogen and offshore wind energy will be combined with Aker Horizons – the group’s green investment company.

This is done through minority shareholders exchanging their shares for shares in Aker Horizons. Aker is currently the dominant owner in all three companies and will not receive any shares.

Transactions value Aker Offshore Wind and Aker Clean Hydrogen at a total of NOK 5.8 billion – a significant decrease from the values ​​above.

Both join the ranks of companies that have been listed in a jubilant green wave, but have plummeted sharply on the stock exchange in the past year.

At the top, the two are priced at a total of NOK 17.8 billion, according to figures from Bloomberg.

The problem is that it’s a small, illiquid company, and the market didn’t like that kind of company, says fund manager John Hill-Wahl at Nordea.

The fund he manages is among the major shareholders of Aker Clean Hydrogen.

Hille-Walle says it “could do well” for the hydrogen company to become part of Aker Horizons.

You can have more peace, long-term business and access to the human and real capital out there. There is a pragmatic view that this is perfectly fine.

Folketrygdfondet also noted the shrinkage in Aker Clean Hydrogen.

The fund is also a major owner of Aker Horizons.

“As a shareholder in both companies, we take note of this and look forward to further collaborations with Aker Horizons,” says Managing Director Nils Bastiansen.

Nordea Fund has been involved since the listing, according to Hill Wahl.

The hydrogen company went public at NOK 16 per share in March of last year, while the exchange ratio of the merger gives a value of NOK 5.49 per share.

For a portfolio in which we have more than twenty billion under management, that’s a microscopic record. The Nordea manager says our place is in Aker.

-If we’re a little unhappy with the Aker Clean Hydrogen hat, over time we’re more satisfied with the Aker hat, he says.

Green stocks break

Kjell Inge Røkke and Aker listed a number of different renewable companies when the market was hot. The listing records are set on the Euronext Growth Market.

– Good Røkke. In all these green companies, he was able to raise capital at a high price, to which others were invited. Then he bought it again for a lower price, Hill-Wall says.

The manager says that the common denominator for many green companies is that there is still a long way to go before they get profits that can be “linked to valuation”.

– As a group, not everyone has done really badly, but everything in Euronext Growth, small and green, has mostly gone very poorly for over a year.

It went from feeling very positive to being very negative, he says.

– We’re motivated

Overall, we are very pleased with the development in the Aker Horizons group. In general but not least at companies like Mainstream and Aker Carbon Capture, says Aker CEO.

– Then Aker Offshore Wind and Aker Clean Hydrogen had a negative development. It does not change our belief in market or corporate opportunities. The changing capital market view of value stocks versus developing stocks, industrial and corporate sectors has also motivated us to simplify the structure and build larger, more diversified and stronger prospects, he says.

Eriksen asserts that “ambitions and strategies have not changed,” but notes that Aker now “simplifies the structure and makes it more efficient.”

– That’s what we do – Collaboration with Aker Asset Management as a capital partner and other Horizons partners.

Eriksen says the following about the offer to minority shareholders:

We believe this is a balanced and valid proposition, considering the shareholder communities of Aker Offshore Wind, Aker Clean Hydrogen and Aker Horizons, respectively.