Norway’s central bank accelerated interest-rate increases and pledged more aggressive tightening, intensifying its response to stubborn inflation and a weak currency, Bloomberg News reported. Norges Bank lifted its key deposit rate on Thursday by 50 basis points to 3.75%, prompting the krone to post its biggest advance in two weeks. The decision outcome was anticipated by a large minority of economists, with the rest predicting a smaller move. This is the 11th hike in the Norwegian benchmark since September 2021.
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SAS's rescue has moved a step closer after a U.S. court approved a revised plan from the Scandinavian airline to raise equity, Reuters reported. The long-suffering airline filed for chapter 11 protection last year. The court approval of the fundraising proposal - a key element of the "SAS Forward" rescue plan - means investors may start placing bids for a stake in the airline.
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SAS will not be using the second tranche of its $700 million debtor-in-possession (DIP) term loan in the second quarter of the year, due to stronger than expected development of the airline's liquidity, the airline said on Monday, Reuters reported. SAS may, depending on the development of its liquidity, continue discussions with Apollo regarding access to the second tranche of the DIP term loan at a later stage of the chapter 11 process.
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According to court documents analyzed, Statkraft, the largest renewable energy company in Europe, is on track to become the first multinational corporation to acquire an Indian power company through the insolvency and bankruptcy code (IBC) process after the national company law tribunal (NCLT) approved its Rs 1.80 billion offer for Lanco Mandakini Hydro Energy, Construction World reported.
Loss-making Norwegian airline Flyr said on Tuesday that it would file for bankruptcy after failing to raise the cash it needed for its operations, Reuters reported. "There is no longer a realistic opportunity to achieve a solution for the short-term liquidity situation," the company said in a statement, adding the board's decision was unanimous. More than 400 employees will lose their jobs as a result of the bankruptcy, Flyr founder and board Chair Erik Braathen told Norwegian daily Dagbladet.
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Norway's wealth fund, one of the world's largest investors, posted a record loss of 1.64 trillion crowns ($164.4 billion) for 2022, bringing to an end a three-year run of soaring profits as stocks and bonds were hit by the Ukraine war and inflation, Reuters reported. The previous largest loss was 633 billion crowns in 2008. It ends a record-breaking streak for the fund, where annual returns exceeded one trillion crowns in each of the three years from 2019 to 2021, amounting to more than four trillion crowns combined. "We are invested in 9,000 companies in 70 countries.
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Norway will not have to ration power supplies this winter or in the coming spring even in the event of an extended cold period and wider energy challenges in the Nordic region, the country's energy regulator NVE said on Monday, Reuters reported. "Our analyses show that even with significant operational challenges in the Nordics, we will not end up in a rationing situation this winter," NVE director Kjetil Lund said in a statement.
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Norway’s DOF Group, which has a fleet of more than 60 offshore service vessels, now faces either a forced restructuring under the Norwegian Reconstruction Act, or bankruptcy, MarineLog reported. At an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) today, the company’s shareholders rejected acceptance of a proposed consensual restructuring that had been agreed to by the company’s major creditors. Prior to the EGM, the shareholders were sent a letter from the creditors that noted that they hold claims against the company equivalent to approximately NOK 23 billion (about $2.3 billion).
SAS AB Chief Executive Officer Anko van der Werff said he’s confident the Scandinavian airline will emerge successfully from a chapter 11 restructuring after winning clearance for a $700 million financing package and seeing a rebound in its own performance, Bloomberg News reported. Approval for the Apollo Global Management funding from a US bankruptcy judge is “the biggest and most important news” for SAS and will be “vital” as it seeks to move forward with a new strategic plan, Der Werff said Thursday in an interview in Gothenburg, Sweden.
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Bankruptcy Judge Michael Wiles on Friday approved a $700 million financing package for SAS AB from Apollo Global Management, though he said features of the deal concern him, Bloomberg News reported. The financing, divided into two $350 million draws, will allow Apollo to convert the debt into stock in the bankrupt airline or participate in an equity raise tied to SAS’s eventual exit from chapter 11 protection under certain circumstances. Judge Wiles called the financing “unusual” and questioned whether it was legally viable.
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