Statoil Small Investors Earn 17% Since 2001 IPO

Small investors in Norway’s largest oil group Statoil, who bought shares at a discount in a $2.9 billion initial public offering a year ago, have earned 17 percent on their investment.

Investors who bought stock for 25,000 kroner ($3,188) or less, last year received a 3 kroner discount to 66 kroner in the public offering of Norway's biggest company. In addition they will today receive one bonus share for every 10 shares they bought and still hold. Statoil also paid a 2.85 krone dividend.

Statoil sold stock to institutional investors at 69 kroner a piece in its offering last year, and the stock yesterday closed at 68 kroner. The OBX benchmark index has dropped 16 percent in the past year. Rival BP has lost 12 percent of its market value in the same period.

“We feel this is a nice story to tell,” Inge Hansen, chief financial officer at Statoil, told newspaper Aftenposten.

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