COMPANY UPDATE, REQUEST FOR STAND-STILL AND SUMMONS TO BONDHOLDERS' MEETINGS IN DOF SUBSEA AS
DOF Subsea AS ("DOF Subsea" or the "Company", and together with its subsidiaries the "Group") has earlier requested and obtained approval for a new bond debt structure, as part of a comprehensive refinancing (proposals 5 December 2019, and revised proposal on 12 February 2020, together the "Original Refinancing Proposal"). These approvals were conditional upon, amongst others, approvals from secured lenders and the completion of a NOK 200 million equity raise within 30 April 2020.
As described in the press release on 27 March 2020 (available on http://www.newsweb.oslobors.no/message/499850), the Company has, after the bondholder approvals were obtained, been faced with significant negative market developments not foreseen when the Original Refinancing Proposal was put forward, including the effect of COVID-19, the sharp decline in oil prices, and extreme currency fluctuations, which also have had a direct negative impact on the Company's liquidity.
As a consequence of the sudden and significant uncertainties caused by these recent developments, the ongoing refinancing of the Group will necessarily be delayed and the Group has announced that it will continue its dialogue with the banks and bondholders to secure a long term financing solution, which also must be sufficiently robust after the recent developments.
In order to facilitate such continued dialogue, the Company today summons bondholder meetings in the three bonds to approve a stand-still as further set out in the attached summons (the "Proposal"). During the first part of this period, the Company will seek to stabilize the situation (together with its major lenders), and then reopen the dialogue with all stakeholders, including secured lenders and bondholders.
The Company has engaged ABG Sundal Collier ASA and Pareto Securities AS as its financial advisors with respect to the Proposal. Accordingly, Bondholders may contact ABG Sundal Collier ASA at +47 22 01 61 66 or Pareto Securities AS Fixed Income Sales at +47 22 87 87 70 for further information.
For further information, please contact:
CEO Mons Aase, tel. +47 91 66 10 12
CFO Hilde Drønen, tel. +47 91 66 10 09
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
This communication may not be published, distributed or transmitted in the United States, Canada, Australia or Japan. These materials do not constitute an offer of securities for sale or a solicitation of an offer to purchase securities of DOF ASA or the Company in the United States, Norway or any other jurisdiction. The securities of DOF ASA and the Company may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"). The securities of DOF ASA and the Company have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act. Any sale in the United States of the securities mentioned in this communication will be made solely to "qualified institutional buyers" as defined in Rule 144A under the U.S. Securities Act and to "major U.S. institutional investors" under SEC Rule 15a-6 to the United States Exchange Act of 1934. No public offering of the securities will be made in the United States. In any EEA Member State that has implemented the Prospectus Directive, this communication is only addressed to and is only directed at qualified investors in that Member State within the meaning of the Prospectus Directive, i.e., only to investors who can receive the offer without an approved prospectus in such EEA Member State. The expression "Prospectus Directive" means Directive 2003/71/EC (and amendments thereto, including Directive 2010/73/EU, to the extent implemented in any relevant Member State) and includes any relevant implementing measure in the relevant Member State. In the United Kingdom, this communication is only addressed to and is only directed at Qualified Investors who (i) are investment professionals falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (as amended) (the "Order") or (ii) are persons falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order (high net worth companies, unincorporated associations, etc.) (all such persons together being referred to as "Relevant Persons"). These materials are directed only at Relevant Persons and must not be acted on or relied on by persons who are not Relevant Persons. Any investment or investment activity to which this announcement 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 "anticipate", "believe", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "intends", "may", "should", "will" 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. This announcement is made by and, and is the responsibility of, the Company. Pareto Securities AS and ABG Sundal Collier (the "Managers") are acting exclusively for the Company and no one else and will not be responsible to anyone other than the Company for providing the protections afforded to their respective clients, or for advice in relation to the contents of this announcement or any of the matters referred to herein. Neither the Managers nor any of their respective affiliates makes any representation as to the accuracy or completeness of this announcement and none of them accepts any responsibility for the contents of this announcement or any matters referred to herein. This announcement is for information purposes only and is not to be relied upon in substitution for the exercise of independent judgment. It is not intended as investment advice and under no circumstances is it to be used or considered as an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or a recommendation to buy or sell any securities of the Company or DOF ASA. Neither the Managers nor any of their respective affiliates accepts any liability arising from the use of this announcement. Each of DOF ASA, the Company, the Managers and their respective affiliates expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to update, review or revise any statement contained in this announcement whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. The distribution of this announcement and other information may be restricted by law in certain jurisdictions. Persons into whose possession this announcement or such other information should come are required to inform themselves about and to observe any such restrictions.
This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.
With a multi-national workforce of about 3,500 personnel, DOF ASA is an international group of companies which owns and operates a fleet of modern offshore/subsea vessels, and engineering capacity to service both the offshore and subsea market. With over 35 years in the offshore business, the group has a strong position in terms of experience, innovation, product range, technology and capacity.
DOF’s core businesses are vessel ownership, vessel management, project management, engineering, vessel operations, survey, remote intervention and diving operations primarily for the oil and gas sector. From PSV charter to Subsea engineering, DOF offers a full spectrum of top quality offshore services to facilitate an ever-growing and demanding industry.
The company's main operation centers and business units are located in Norway, the UK, the USA, Singapore, Brazil, Argentina, Canada, Angola, and Australia.
DOF ASA is listed on the Oslo Exchange since 1997.