projects dno, company development

We assisted with the merger of DNO’s Norwegian business with Pertra ASA in the autumn of 2007/spring of 2008 and created the second largest oil company on the Norwegian continental shelf after StatoilHydro

The transaction was done by using DNO’s Norwegian portfolio as a contribution in kind in Pertra, which, like DNO, is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. At the same time, Pertra changed name to Det norske oljeselskap ASA. After the transaction, DNO became the largest shareholder in Pertra with just under 40 %. The period after completion raised many challenges, hereunder how to integrate the two business, and how to regulate the rights and obligations of the parties in the period following the transaction. This was solved in an agreement regarding strategy, board composition and an obligation for DNO to reduce its ownership over time. DNO was assisted by a team from our firm led by Christian Ditlev-Simonsen.