The efforts by a group of NTS shareholders to take over the company and remove majority shareholder Helge Gaso from the board took a dramatic turn Friday at the company's extraordinary general meeting in Rorvik, Norway.
The new chairman proposed by the group of rebels, Hans Martin Storo, chose instead to quit the rebellion, voting against the proposal and stepping into an ordinary position on the board, in a surprise turn of events.
"I could not have taken on the responsibility as chairman of the board in this situation and, therefore, chose to vote against the proposal for the grouping we were part of," he said.
Storo himself owns just under 50,201 shares in NTS, or 0.04 percent, but is also chairman of the board of Guntvedt Holding, which is the thirteenth largest owner with 0.97 percent of the shares.
"I wanted amicable solutions in this case, and to build a bridge between the groups and find solutions for the best interests of the company."
The power struggle comes from a group of families based in Rorvik that wish to take over the company.
Salmon billionaire Gaso has in turn spearheaded an attempt to take over Norway Royal Salmon (NRS), in which NTS secured more than two-thirds of the shares, and merge it with the farming activities of NTS's, Salmonor.
The news that that the uprising had not succeeded sent the price of NRS shares into a slump on the Oslo Stock Exchange on Friday, plummeting more than 10 percent. NTS shares, on the other hand, were down a little more than one percent.
Huge number of messages
Storo said he had received "an enormous amount of negative feedback" from shareholders who do not belong to any of the blocs before the general meeting. He has received the same from employees.
"Guntvedt Holding wanted a broader board representation, and when we did not get approval for it, we could do nothing but vote against," said Storo.
"It was decided a few minutes before the general meeting. We must take into account all the shareholders. If you want to join the company as chairman of the board, it is a prerequisite that the owners cooperate. One can not get into a lasting conflict."
Storo said he was not disappointed by the outcome.
"I am most relieved that NTS was not put in the situation that it could have been put in."
The price of NRS had risen markedly in recent days on speculation that the rebel shareholder group would sell.
"I think it is obvious that SalMar and other salmon farmers may still be interested in buying Norway Royal Salmon, if the opportunity arises," Sparebank 1 Markets Analysts Knut-Ivar Bakken told IntraFish sister publication Dagens Naeringsliv before the general meeting.
