Stavanger, centre of the Norwegian oil industry, is still attracting investment cash
Okea IPO hit by market turbulence
Private equity-backed North Sea producer cuts price and reduces share volumes as it makes Oslo Bors debut
Okea, the first of the latest generation of North Sea producers that have attracted significant private equity (PE) cash to go public, had a low-key start in June to its life as a public-traded firm. The company cited "severe volatility and a strong downward spike in the oil price" during the book-building period and "substantial indications of interest below the indicative price range" for a delay in its initial timeframe, revised pricing and a lower volume of shares sold than previously planned. Okea finally debuted on 18 June, having sold around 30pc of its shares in its initial public offering (IPO) at a price of NOK21 ($2.44). The initial plan had been to sell just over 50pc of the firm
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