Kværner ASA : Share Purchase Programmes

These written materials are not for distribution in the United States or to US persons, and the information contained herein does not constitute an offer of securities for sale in the United States.

15 May 2012 - Kværner ASA is offering individuals who are employed by its subsidiaries ("Kvaerner") in Norway the opportunity to buy Kværner ASA shares (the "Shares") through the 2012 through the 2012 Share Purchase Programmes for employees and managers 

The Employee Share Purchase Programme allows eligible Kvaerner employees (the "Employees") to buy Shares at certain set purchase amounts; the minimum is for Shares with a trading value of NOK 10 000 and the maximum is for Shares with a trading value of NOK 60 000 (Discount and Price Reduction will be applied to these amounts). The share price will be based on the average volume weighted share price on Oslo Børs (the stock exchange in Oslo) over the last five trading days preceding the date of delivery of the Shares.  

The Employees will be offered a standard discount of NOK 1 500 (the "Discount") for participation in the Employee Share Purchase Programme. The Discount is offered to motivate employees to purchase Shares at a favourable price and to encourage long-term ownership. The Employees will also have an additional price reduction of 25 percent of the trading value of the Shares (the "Price Reduction"). Kværner ASA will bear the cost of the Discount and the Price Reduction. 

The Shares purchased through the Employee Share Purchase Programme are subject to a three year lock-up period from the date of delivery. Shares may not be sold or otherwise disposed of, pledged or in any way transferred during the lock-up period.

The purpose of the Employee Share Purchase Programme is to:

• Increase employees' ownership in Kværner ASA and to let employees participate in any long-term development of the value of the Shares;
• Reinforce employees' alignment with shareholders and strengthen the employees' understanding of the factors influencing the share price, experiencing the financial benefits, and the opportunities and risks of being a shareholder; and
• Reinforce employees' identification with Kværner ASA and the long term development of the company.

The Employee Share Purchase Programme will be introduced in Norway in 2012.

In addition, Kvaerner is offering certain managers the opportunity to buy Shares through a separate 2012 Manager Share Purchase Programme. The Manager Share Purchase Programme allows eligible Managers to purchase Shares for a maximum amount of 25 percent of their base salary. The share price will be based on the average volume weighted share price on Oslo Børs over the last five trading days preceding the date of delivery of the Shares. Kvaerner offers a 25 percent price reduction of the trading value of the Shares you purchased under the Manager Share Purchase Programme. The Shares purchased through the Manager Share Purchase Programme are subject to a three year lock-up period from the date of delivery. Shares may not be sold or otherwise disposed of, pledged or in any way transferred during the lock-up period.

The subscription period for both Share Purchase Programmes runs from 11 June 2012 until 25 June 2012 at 15:00 CET.

Information packages for both Share Purchase Programmes have been sent to the home addresses of employees eligible for the respective programmes. The information package is also available upon request from the company.

Kvaerner will be acquiring the shares for both Share Purchase Programmes on the open market.

ENDS

For further information, please contact:

Investor relations:Ingrid Aarsnes, SVP Investor Relations, Kvaerner, Tel: +47 67 59 50 46, Mob: +47 950 38 364

Media: Mariken Holter, SVP Corporate Communications, Kvaerner, Tel: +47 67 52 74 35, Mob: +47 917 87 358. 

About Kvaerner:With more than 3 200 HSE-focused and experienced employees, Kvaerner is a specialised provider of engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services for offshore platforms and onshore plants. Kværner ASA, through its subsidiaries and affiliates ("Kvaerner"), is an international contractor that plans and realises some of the world's most demanding projects as a preferred partner for upstream and downstream oil and gas operators, industrial companies and other engineering and fabrication contractors.

In 2011, the Kvaerner group had aggregated annual revenues of more than NOK 13 billion and the company had an order backlog at 31 December 2011 of more than NOK 10 billion. Kvaerner was publicly listed with the ticker "KVAER" at the Oslo Stock Exchange on 8 July 2011. For further information, please visit www.kvaerner.com.