2001 Maritime Services Directory  Reserve your copy now! Also available on CD-ROM

Click here for details of our upcoming GULF OFFSHORE 2001 event Biloxi, MS, June 5 & 6 May 4, 2001 Røkke loses latest Kværner bid in squeaker By a narrow 40:37 million share margin, multi-millionaire Kjell Inge Røkke has lost his latest battle to seize control of the destiny of the giant Kværner Group. At today's general meeting of Kværner, Røkke's Aker Maritime, which is Kværner's largest shareholder, put forward an alternative slate for shareholder-elected directors. Pehr G. Gyllenhammar, the former head of Volvo and now head of one of the UK's largest insurance companies CGNU,was proposed as the new chairman of the board. Other members of the impressive slate were Ivar Tangen, who has had an impressive career in the Norwegian oil industry, Reidar Lund, the former president and CEO of Transocean who is now executive chairman of the board of Prosafe. Ole Melberg, who played an important role in the development of Smedvig's drilling operations, Widar Salbuvik, founder of the Pareto financial group and Helge Lund, COO of Aker-RGI. In the event, by a slim majority, shareholders went with the slate endorsed by the present Kværner hierarchy. The big question now, of course, is what Røkke's next move will be. HOME