Polish subcontractor delays and project management issues at Bergen Group (OSE: BERGEN) Fosen are now forcing the company to divest activities. A massive 200 million NOK loss that is projected to be reported on Q3 2012 by the Shipbuilding division will most likely lead to a breach of loan covenants (they are NIBD / EBITDA < 3.5, book equity > 1 billion NOK and cash+cash equivalents above 6 months aggregate interest payment) despite likely continued decent results from the Offshore division.
Multi-month delays for cruise ferry hull delays have maxed the company on penalties and have put pressure on project leadership given that it has been busy with other projects as well. The second hull is still under construction in Poland. The new management in Fosen has also said that new project cost forecasts have flagged additional costs.
The company said it has signed MoU for a joint ownership of Bergen Group Shipbuilding with a European shipbuilder. This would leave the new industrial partner as a principal shareholder in the division comprising of Bergen Group Fosen and well performing Bergen Group BMV. The said partner does have hull building capacity in Europe. The Parties are looking into ways to establish future collaboration, with final agreement platform in place in Q1 2013.
Fearnley Securities is acting as a financial advisor in the process. Additionally crane manufacturer Bergen Group Dreggen will be sold to Palfinger AG (WBAG: PAL). In recent months Køhlergruppen AS has acquired a little under 10% stake in Bergen Group. The two largest owners of the company are Spring Capital Resources Inc of Brian Chang who founded Chinese shipbuilding company Yantai Raffles Shipyard and long time leader Magnus Stangeland.
No comments:
Post a Comment