The Dubai-based logistics operator Gulf Agency Company (GAC) Group yesterday said it has acquired an 80 per cent stake in Ole R Olsen (ORO), Norway's oldest shipping agency.
This follows a strong and positive half-year strategic alliance between GAC and ORO.
GAC purchased the shares of ORO's retiring President Frank Toftesund. The remaining 20 per cent of the shares are held by ORO's Managing Director Ahmad Zsoy, who will continue to head the new entity GAC-ORO.
The merger brings together GAC's global connections with ORO's 162 years of maritime experience in Norway and its support for Oslo's oil installations in the North Sea.
Established in Bergen, Norway in 1845, ORO's headquarters are in Mongstad, home to the country's biggest oil, gas and product terminal.
Toftesund said the merger had been driven by the recognition that the two companies shared a strong business philosophy bolstered by a common Scandinavian heritage. This, he believed, will remain deeply rooted in the new entity.
"Our partnership with GAC over the past six months has convinced us that closer ties will add strength to ORO's operations and our long-term personal relationships with customers," he said. "The continuing leadership of Ahmet Zsoy will also ensure stability."
This follows a strong and positive half-year strategic alliance between GAC and ORO.
GAC purchased the shares of ORO's retiring President Frank Toftesund. The remaining 20 per cent of the shares are held by ORO's Managing Director Ahmad Zsoy, who will continue to head the new entity GAC-ORO.
The merger brings together GAC's global connections with ORO's 162 years of maritime experience in Norway and its support for Oslo's oil installations in the North Sea.
Established in Bergen, Norway in 1845, ORO's headquarters are in Mongstad, home to the country's biggest oil, gas and product terminal.
Toftesund said the merger had been driven by the recognition that the two companies shared a strong business philosophy bolstered by a common Scandinavian heritage. This, he believed, will remain deeply rooted in the new entity.
"Our partnership with GAC over the past six months has convinced us that closer ties will add strength to ORO's operations and our long-term personal relationships with customers," he said. "The continuing leadership of Ahmet Zsoy will also ensure stability."