Vår Energi ASA, et av de største uavhengige oppstrøms olje- og gasselskapene på norsk kontinentalsokkel, lanserer i dag sitt offentlige tilbud om nedsalg av aksjer og påfølgende notering på Oslo Børs i tråd med selskapets kunngjøring 24. januar. Det er ventet at selskapets aksjer vil være notert for betinget handel på Oslo Børs fra 16. februar med ticker «VAR», med forbehold om nødvendige godkjenninger og gjennomføring av aksjenedsalget.

NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO, THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AUSTRALIA, CANADA OR JAPAN OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE SUCH PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION OR RELEASE WOULD BE UNLAWFUL. OTHER RESTRICTIONS ARE APPLICABLE. PLEASE SEE “IMPORTANT INFORMATION” AT THE END OF THE PRESS RELEASE.

Oppdatering om utbytte for 2022

Videre har selskapet i dag oppdatert sin tidligere kommuniserte utbyttepolicy for 2022. Selskapet har tidligere fastsatt et utbytte for 2022 på minst 700 millioner dollar, hvorav 200 millioner dollar var planlagt utbetalt for første kvartal. Basert på dagens markedsforhold og utsiktene til fortsatt robuste råvaremarkeder, har selskapet besluttet å øke utbytte-guiding for 2022 til totalt 800 millioner dollar og utbytte for første kvartal til 225 millioner dollar. Som en ytterligere refleksjon av Vår Energis sterke kontantstrøm (inkludert positive endringer i visse elementer av arbeidskapitalen i januar), viser selskapets foreløpige beregninger en reduksjon i netto rentebærende gjeld per 31. januar 2022 til rundt 3.9 milliarder dollar fra 4.6 milliarder dollar per 31. desember 2021.

Plasseringen

Aksjene i Vår Energi tilbys for salg til en indikativ pris mellom 28,00 kroner og 31,50 kroner per aksje, tilsvarende en verdi på egenkapitalen i Vår Energi på mellom 70 milliarder kroner og 79 milliarder kroner. Den endelige prisen per aksje kan bli fastsatt til både høyere og lavere nivåer. Nedsalget utgjør opp til 220 millioner eksisterende aksjer tilbudt på lik basis av selskapets aksjonærer Eni International B.V. (“Eni”) and HitecVision, gjennom Point Resources Holding AS (“HitecVision”), som i dag eier respektive 69.85% og 30.15% av selskapets utestående aksjer. Eni og HitecVision har en opsjon på å kunne øke nedsalget med ytterligere 55 millioner aksjer, fordelt likt mellom seg. Rådgiverne har i tillegg en overtildelingsopsjon på ytterligere 41,25 millioner aksjer, men likevel maksimalt 15% av det totale antallet aksjer som allokeres i nedsalget.

Nedsalget omfatter 8.8% av totalt antall utestående aksjer, før eventuelt bruk av opsjoner for økt nedsalg og overtildeling, og opptil 12.7% av antall utestående aksjer når man inkluderer økt nedsalg og overtildeling. Selskapet venter at Oslo Børs vil gi unntak fra regelen om 25% fri flyt.

Selskapet har mottatt betydelig interesse fra en rekke nordiske og internasjonale institusjonelle investorer i forkant av nedsalget.

Nedsalget er delt opp i tre transjer, én for institusjonelle investorer, én for retail investorer og én for ansatte i Vår Energi. Bookbuilding for institusjonelle investorer og tegningsperiode for retail investorer og ansatte starter kl 09:00 den 7. februar. Bookbuilding-perioden varer til kl 14:00 den 15. februar for institusjonelle investorer. Retail investorer og ansatte kan tegne aksjer frem til senest kl 12:00 samme dag. Bookbuilding- og tegningsperioden kan forkortes og utvides som beskrevet i prospektet.

Godkjenning og publisering av prospekt

Prospektet for offentlige tilbud om nedsalg av aksjer ventes å bli godkjent av Finanstilsynet i dag, 4. februar 2022. Prospektet vil bli publisert sammen med tegningsblanketter for retail investorer og ansatte og være tilgjengelig hos www.varenergi.no, www.dnb.no/emisjoner, www.sb1markets.no, www.abgsc.no, www.carnegie.no, www.paretosec.com og www.nordnet.no/se/dk/fi.

Nærmere detaljer om plasseringen, tegningsperioden, prisfastsettelse, og betingelser for gjennomføring av det offentlige tilbudet og notering finnes i den engelske pressmeldingen som er tilgjengelig på www.varenergi.no samt i prospektet som vil bli publisert etter godkjenning fra Finanstilsynet i dag.

Rådgivere

DNB Markets, en del av DNB Bank ASA, J.P. Morgan SE., Morgan Stanley & Co. International Plc og SpareBank 1 Markets AS er engasjert som Joint Global Coordinators og Joint Bookrunners for transaksjonen, og ABG Sundal Collier ASA, BofA Securities Europe SA, Carnegie AS, Jefferies GmbH and Pareto Securities AS er Joint Bookrunners (samlet “Managers“).

Advokatfirmaet Schjødt AS er norsk juridisk rådgiver for selskapet og Latham & Watkins (London) LLP er juridisk rådgiver for selskapet relatert til U.S. federal og New York state lovgivning. Advokatfirmaet BAHR AS er norsk juridisk rådgiver for Managers, og Linklaters LLP er internasjonal juridisk rådgiver for Managers. Crux Advisers AS er kommunikasjons- og investor relations rådgiver.

Mer informasjon:

Investor relations
Ida Marie Fjellheim, Head of IR
+47 90509291
ida.fjellheim@varenergi.no

Media
Andreas Wulff
+47 92616759
andreas.wulff@varenergi.no

Om Vår Energi ASA

Vår Energi er et ledende uavhengig olje- og gasselskap på norsk kontinentalsokkel (NKS). I Vår Energi jobber vi for en bedre fremtid gjennom ansvarlig verdi-drevet vekst basert på over 50 år med drift på norsk sokkel, en robust og diversifisert portefølje med pågående utviklingsprosjekter, og en lang historie av vellykket leting. Vår ambisjon er å være den sikreste operatøren på NKS, den foretrukne partneren, en leder innen bærekraft og en netto null-utslipps produsent (Scope 1 og 2) innen 2030.

Vår Energi har mer enn 900 ansatte og eierandeler i 35 produserende felt med en dagsproduksjon på 247 000 fat oljeekvivalenter per tredje kvartal 2021. Vi har hovedkvarter rett utenfor Stavanger, og kontorer i Oslo og Hammerfest.  For å lære mer, vennligst besøk varenergi.no.

 

 

Important information

This announcement is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of any offer to buy any securities of Vår Energi ASA (the “Company”). The contents of this announcement have been prepared by and are the sole responsibility of the Company. The information contained in this announcement is for background purposes only and does not purport to be full or complete. No reliance may be placed by any person for any purpose on the information contained in this announcement or its accuracy, fairness or completeness.

Copies of this announcement are not being made and may not be distributed or sent into the United States of America, Australia, Canada or Japan or any other jurisdiction in which such distribution would be unlawful or would require registration or other measures.

Any offering of the securities referred to in this announcement will be made by means of a prospectus. This announcement is not a prospectus for the purposes of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2017 on the prospectus to be published when securities are offered to the public or admitted to trading on a regulated market, and repealing Directive 2003/71/EC (together with any related implementing and delegated regulations, the “Prospectus Regulation”). Investors should not invest in any securities referred to in this announcement except on the basis of information contained in the aforementioned prospectus.

In any EEA Member State other than Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark, and in the United Kingdom (each, a “Relevant State”) this communication is only addressed to and is only directed at qualified investors in that Relevant State within the meaning of the Prospectus Regulation, i.e., only to investors who can receive the offer without an approved prospectus in such Relevant State.

The securities referred to in this announcement have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and accordingly may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act and in accordance with applicable U.S. state securities laws. The Company does not intend to register any offering in the United States or to conduct a public offering of securities in the United States.

Copies of this announcement are not being, and should not be, distributed in or sent into the United States (including its territories and possessions, any State of the United States and the District of Columbia), Australia, Canada or Japan. The securities described herein have also not been and will not be registered under the applicable securities laws of Australia, Canada or Japan and, subject to certain exemptions, may not be offered or sold in or into or for the account or benefit of any person having a registered address in, or located or resident in Australia, Canada or Japan. There will be no public offering of the securities described herein in Australia, Canada or Japan.

This communication and any materials in relation to the securities described herein are only being distributed to and is only directed at persons in the United Kingdom that are qualified investors within the meaning of article 2(e) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of the European (Withdrawal) Act 2018 that also (i) have professional experience in matters relating to investments falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005, as amended (the “Order”), (ii) are persons falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) (“high net worth companies, unincorporated associations etc.”) of the Order, (iii) are outside the United Kingdom, or (iv) are persons to whom an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity (within the meaning of section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (“FSMA”)) in connection with the issue or sale of any securities may otherwise lawfully be communicated or caused to be communicated (all such persons together being referred to as “Relevant Persons”). This communication must not be acted on or relied on by persons who are not Relevant Persons. Any investment or investment activity to which this communication relates is available only to Relevant Persons and will be engaged in only with Relevant Persons. Persons distributing this communication must satisfy themselves that it is lawful to do so.

Matters discussed in this announcement may constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and may be identified by words such as “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intends,” “estimate,” “will,” “may,” “continue”, “should” and similar expressions. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions. Although the Company believes that these assumptions were reasonable when made, these assumptions are inherently subject to significant known and unknown risks, uncertainties, contingencies and other important factors which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond its control. Such risks, uncertainties, contingencies and other important factors could cause actual events to differ materially from the expectations expressed or implied in this release by such forward-looking statements. The information, opinions and forward-looking statements contained in this announcement speak only as at its date and are subject to change without notice. Neither the Company nor the Managers undertake any obligation to review, update, confirm or release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that arise in relation to the content of this communication.

The Managers are acting exclusively for the Company and the Selling Shareholders and no one else in connection with the IPO. They will not regard any other person as their respective clients in relation to the planned IPO and will not be responsible to anyone other than the Company and the Selling Shareholders for providing the protections afforded to its clients, nor for providing advice in relation to the offering, the contents of this announcement or any transaction, arrangement or other matter referred to herein.

In connection with the IPO, the Managers and their respective affiliates may take up a portion of the shares offered in the IPO as a principal position and in that capacity may retain, purchase, sell, offer to sell for their own accounts such shares and other securities of the Company or related investments in connection with the IPO or otherwise. In addition, the Managers and their respective affiliates may enter into financing arrangements (including swaps or contracts for differences) with investors in connection with which the Managers and their respective affiliates may from time to time acquire, hold or dispose of shares of the Company. The Managers do not intend to disclose the extent of any such investment or transactions, other than in accordance with any legal or regulatory obligations to do so.

None of the Managers or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, advisers or agents accepts any responsibility or liability whatsoever for or makes any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the truth, accuracy or completeness of the information in this release (or whether any information has been omitted from the release) or any other information relating to the Company, whether written, oral or in a visual or electronic form, and howsoever transmitted or made available, or for any loss howsoever arising from any use of this release or its contents or otherwise arising in connection therewith.