1. Background and overview
EQVA ASA ("EQVA" or the "Company") is a knowledge-based active owner of
industrial service providers contributing to the green transition within
maritime, energy intensive and renewable industries. The Company has significant
growth ambitions. In order to contribute to the realisation of EQVA's strategy
and ambitions, it is desirable that the Company's and the management's long-term
financial interests are more closely aligned.
On this background, the Board of Directors has resolved to carry out an internal
reorganisation of the EQVA group and invite selected members of EQVA's
management to invest, together with the Company, in the Company's business
within a controlled framework.
"EQVA has had a very strong development so far in 2024, but we are still a young
company in the very early stages of an exciting growth journey. As such, we
believe that the introduction of the management investments strongly
incentivizes the current management team to remain committed to our long-term
goal: creating exceptional value for all our shareholders," says Rune
Skarveland, Chair of the Board of Directors of EQVA.
Further details on the reorganisation and management investments are set out in
section 2 below.
2 The reorganisation and management investments
2.1 Establishment of Eqva Holding and Eqva Partners
The entire business of the Company, including assets and equity investments, but
excluding the Participants (as defined below), will be transferred to, and
employed by, a newly established, wholly-owned subsidiary, Eqva Holding AS
("Eqva Holding"). Eqva Holding thus becomes the new sub-holding company for the
group's operations.
Members of EQVA's management will be transferred to, and will be employed by, a
separate newly established subsidiary, Eqva Partners AS ("Eqva Partners"), and
invited to invest in Eqva Holding and Eqva Partners as set out below. The
relevant members (the "Participants") are:
o Even Matre Ellingsen (CEO)
o Petter Sørdahl (CFO)
o Sverre Olav Handeland
o Daniel H. Molvik
o Trygve Kjerpeseth
o Ask Haukås
o Erik Høyvik
Eqva Partners will enter into an agreement with the Company whereby Eqva
Partners will manage the Company and its investment portfolio against payment of
a fixed fee of NOK 18.8 million per year. The fee will be CPI-adjusted annually.
Matters of an unusual nature and of material importance to the Company or the
EQVA group will in any case be decided by the Board of Directors of the Company.
Even Matre Ellingsen will continue as CEO of EQVA.
2.2 The Participants' investments
The Participants are invited to invest up to NOK 8 million in B shares in Eqva
Holding, which will correspond to approximately 2% of the share capital in Eqva
Holding.
The remaining shares in Eqva Holding will be A shares, which will correspond to
approximately 98% of the share capital in Eqva Holding. The A shares will be
held by EQVA.
The A shares and the B shares will have equal rights, with the exception that
distributions from Eqva Holding shall be distributed as follows:
a)first to the A shares, until the A shares have received an aggregate amount
equal to NOK 403,000,000, corresponding to their agreed value, plus an internal
rate of return ("IRR") of 8%