The Norwegian Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries has sold its remaining 37.8 million shares in Scandinavian carrier SAS – which represents 9.88 per cent of the airline.
The Norwegian state has been gradually reducing its stake in SAS, with the latest sale finalising its departure from the Sweden-headquartered airline company.
The transaction was structured as an accelerated bookbuilding to institutional investors and gross proceeds for the government were 652 million Swedish crowns ($73.42 million), about 597 million Norwegian crowns, Reuters reports.
A statement from the Ministry said yesterday about the sale: “Norwegian state’s ownership in SAS has been purely commercial. Consequently, it is not expected that the company will be making strategic or operational changes following the transaction.”
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The Ministry added that Nordea, Pareto and UBS were joint global co-ordinators and bookrunners for the transaction, while Swedbank and Wiersholm acted as an independent financial adviser and legal counsel respectively to the Norwegian state.
