Finnish Govt. buy Aker Arctic stake

Finnish government-owned investment company, Finnish Industry Investment Ltd, has acquired a 66.4% stake in Aker Arctic Technology Oy (Aker Arctic) from STX Finland Oy.

Aker Arctic is a leading company in Arctic marine logistics and offshore solutions, as well Arctic vessel design.

The company's other shareholders, ABB Oy Finland and Norway's Aker Engineering and Technology AS, part of the Aker Solutions group, are hold equal shares, at 16.8% each.The value of the deal is €9.3 million.

Aker Arctic has designed a number of concepts for Arctic shipping, including the world's first oblique icebreaker concept, which is currently under construction at Arctech Helsinki Shipyard Oy.

Aker Arctic has been involved in logistic solutions in the North-West Russia, and is also in the design of both Canada´s and China's new polar icebreaker.The development and utilization of a cutting-edge arctic know-how is important to Finland for several reasons, including arctic business development, as well as in terms of security of national supply issues.

“Arctic shipping is expected to increase substantially in the upcoming years and decades," says Finland's Minister of Economic Affairs, Mr. Jan Vapaavuori says. "As a world leader in solutions for development of Arctic engineering Aker Arctic has good prospects to gain a significant market share in the industry. This of course also has a positive impact on the company´s long-term value. That is why I consider this deal highly successful from the state’s point of view."

In recent months, Finland's Ministry of Employment and the Economy has been studying actively the possibilities for securing the company's know-how and further development in Finland.

The transfer of the company´s know-how, such as intellectual property rights, away from Finland, would have meant a serious setback for the entire Finnish Arctic marine industry's future development.

"The company's know-how can also be used to help the Finnish Defence Forces. The company´s expertise and its utilization hold a key role in Finland's Arctic strategy, as well as in implementation of the Ministry's Marine Industry 2020 working group proposals”, Vapaavuori adds.