Four foreign buyout funds are reportedly interested in buying Hurtigruten, according to newspaper Dagens Næringsliv. The price they are willing to pay may be more than double that of two years ago.
In October 2014 the British investment fund TDR Capital bought just over 80 percent of the traditional company, with Petter A. Stordalen and Trygve Hegnar’s investment companies as the largest minority shareholders. At that time the company was valued at 5.7 billion kroner.
Now several potential buyers are willing to pay more than double that amount, according to Dagens Næringsliv. According to the newspaper there are four players who now want to buy the company. But doubling the amount from 2014 is probably not enough to get today’s main players to sell.
TDR Capital was not willing comment on the question of ownership or sale, but sources have indicated to DN that the owners are not interested in selling their shares for less than around 15 billion kroner, which is equivalent to 15 times the expected surplus this year.
It now The potential buyers are not primarily attracted by the fixed and regular route along the Norwegian coast, but focus on the company’s cruise traffic in the polar regions. Hurtigruten recently placed orders for two new ships for use in this segment and has options for two additional vessels. In addition, Norway and Northern Norway is considered to be an exotic – yet also safe – destination.
Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today
