Airport development company opens up to Norwegian and foreign investors

Pangea Property Partners, advisor to the company which owns an enormous development site and one of the biggest in the Nordics, also believes one of several potential ownership structures could emerge from the process.

OAC has pulled the trigger on a process to assess strategic alternatives as it faces a development turning point.

It owns the 1,150-acre Gardermoen site with potential for almost 1 mln m2. Leases have already been signed for three projects. Over the summer, Porsche Center Gardermoen was handed over to the tenant. Meanwhile, The World Seafood Center, the world's largest state-of-the-art cold storage terminal for seafood, is under construction, as is OAC Arts, a high-end warehouse for art and other valuables. In addition, the company is in discussions with several other potential tenants.

According to OAC, there have been a number of ‘concrete’ inquiries from strategic investors and partners. It is not certain that any material change will take place, however, as one option is to ‘continue the current form,’ according to OAC chairman, Fredrik Torgersen.

The company was founded in 2016 and has around 160 shareholders, the largest of which is private Norwegian company, Kistefos Eiendom with 30%.

Bård Bjølgerud, CEO and partner at Pangea Property Partners, said: ‘Oslo Airport City’s attractive size, unique location and enormous development potential make this one of the most interesting development projects in the Nordic region.’

‘The location in the middle of Norway's largest transportation hub with the main airport, main roads and railway makes this optimal for distribution and logistics, both in and out of Norway and within the country's borders. It is natural to expect development also within other property segments that benefit from the location and proximity to Oslo. OAC is a very interesting project, and I think many others will think so as well.’

Advokatfirmaet Thommessen is acting as legal advisor.