| Aker Solutions ASA | |
| Type: | Allmennaksjeselskap |
| Predecessor: | Aker Mechanical Workshop (1841) |
| Location: | Fornebu, Norway |
| Area Served: | Worldwide |
| Industry: | Oilfield services Engineering |
| Revenue: | NOK 22,461 million [1] |
| Operating Income: | NOK 571 million |
| Assets: | NOK 19,736 million |
| Num Employees: | 6,000 |
| Parent: | Aker ASA |
Aker Solutions ASA engineers and builds energy infrastructure while providing products and consultancy services to low-carbon and renewable energy projects. Based in Oslo, the company's offerings to the energy industry include the systems and services required to de-carbonize oil and gas production, build wind-to-grid infrastructure and engineer capture and sequestration.
Founded in 1841 as Akers Mekaniske Verksted, the company has been called Aker, Aker Kvaerner and Aker Solutions (2008). In 2020, the company announced a merger with Kværner ASA. In 2023, the company trades on the Oslo stock exchange under the symbol 'AKSO'.
Aker Kværner was founded in 2004 from the major restructuring of a complex "Aker Kværner" business unit formed in 2002 by the merger of Aker Maritime and Kværner Oil & Gas. On 3 April 2008, Aker Kværner was renamed Aker Solutions in part due to the difficulty non-Scandinavians found in pronouncing "Kværner".
The company was majority controlled by Aker ASA until 2007. Then, via major ownership restructuring on 22 June 2007, Aker ASA gave up its holding in Aker Solutions and transferred a 40% stake to Aker Holding, which in turn was owned by Aker ASA (60%), the Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry (30%), SAAB (7.5%) and Investor AB (2.5%).
Aker Solutions derives from a series of start-ups and mergers brought into being by Norwegian companies of the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries.
The timeline below summarizes the main events leading to the foundation of Aker Kvaerner —from its origins as Aker Mechanical Workshop (1841) — until the merger of Aker Maritime with Kværner Oil & Gas to form Aker Kvaerner in 2002 .
Aker Kværner resulted from a merger of Aker Maritime and Kværner Oil & Gas in 2002, and a major restructuring of the Aker Kværner business unit in 2004.
Earlier in 2003, the group structure of Aker Kværner was split into six business areas; Field Development Europe, MMO Europe, Subsea & Oilfield Products, Oil, Gas & Process International, E&C Europe and E&C Americas. A need arose in 2004 to simplify a complex group structure which led to the formation of two industrial groups: Aker Kværner, working with oil, gas, energy and process engineering, and shipbuilding Aker Yards. In addition, Aker Kværner became a minor shareholder in the Finnish engineering company Aker Arctic in 2004. The new Aker Kvaerner started trading on Oslo Stock Exchange under ticker symbol 'AKVER' on 2 April 2004.[3] [4]
In 2006, the company's pulp-and-paper and power businesses were sold to Finnish-based Metso in a deal worth €335 million.[5] On 7 June 2007, an agreement was announced where a 40.1 percent stake of the company would be sold from Aker ASA to Aker Holding.[6] The new company would be owned by Aker ASA (60%), the Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry (30%), SAAB (7.5%) and Investor (2.5%).[7] [8]
In 2007, the company was identified by Amnesty International as an accessory to torture and other human rights abuses for its collaboration in constructing and maintaining the US detention camp at Guantanamo Bay.
During the AGM held on 3 April 2008, Aker Kværner announced that it would rebrand as Aker Solutions, a name that references Aker's businesses heritage while being easy to pronounce.
Between April 2010 and June 2010, the company was awarded three contracts by Noble Energy to supply steel tube umbilicals, a complete mono-ethylene glycol (MEG) reclamation unit, and subsea control equipment for the construction of offshore oil platforms in the Tamar gas field in Israel. Together, the contracts were worth NOK 1.1 billion.[9]
On 6 May 2011, the Kværner name re-emerged when Aker Solutions' EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) division was re-branded, and a new company was spun off and listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange in the third-quarter of 2011. Aker Solutions' holding company — Aker Holdings AS — was renamed Aker Kværner Holding AS and it held about 40% of Kværner ASA. Aker ASA took over the 10% stake owned by Saab and Investor AB, raising its stake in Aker Kværner Holding AS to 70%.
In 2014, Aker Solutions was further divided into two companies, Aker Solutions and Akastor, and in August Aker Solutions leased the entire first phase of the new Aberdeen International Business Park[10] as part of a consolidation and strengthening of its oilfield services in and around Aberdeen, Scotland.
However, on 18 February 2015, the company announced the loss of around 300 jobs in Norway as a response to falling oil prices and the decline in demand for drilling services.[11]
In November 2020, Aker Solutions merged with Kværner ASA.[12] [13]