Sharper focus, greater capacity
Dear fellow shareholders,
During my years at Aker, I have seen companies created, developed, listed, merged, acquired, and occasionally disappear altogether. That is the nature of industrial development. What is less common is seeing a company grow from an idea into a global leader and then become part of one of the world’s largest industrial technology groups. The sale of Cognite to Schneider Electric is one such moment.
Announced after market closed on June 30, the Cognite transaction was the defining event for Aker in the second quarter. The transaction values Cognite at NOK 30.8 billion and is expected to result in cash proceeds to Aker of NOK 14.7 billion. For context, that amount brings Aker's net interest-bearing debt to close to zero and will lift Aker’s liquidity reserve above NOK 20 billion, significantly increasing our financial flexibility. Closing is expected in the fourth quarter, subject to customary regulatory approvals.
The second quarter was characterized by high activity across the broader portfolio, with several important milestones. Across our companies, active ownership continued to support operational development and strengthen competitive positions. The underlying performance remained solid and shareholder returns were strong.
At the end of the second quarter, Aker’s Net Asset Value (NAV) was NOK 106 billion (NOK 1,429 per share), after distributing a dividend of NOK 2.2 billion (NOK 29 per share) in May. The total shareholder return, measured by share price performance and dividends, was 10.0 percent for the quarter, outperforming the 7.8 percent decline in the Oslo Stock Exchange Benchmark Index (OSEBX) and the 28.9 percent decline in the Brent oil price.
For the first half year, Aker’s share delivered a total return of 53.3 percent, including dividend paid. This compares to a 13.0 percent increase in the OSEBX and a 20.6 percent increase in the Brent oil price.
For Aker, the sale of Cognite marks the realization of nearly a decade of company building. It also says something important about how we create value: by identifying opportunities early, building expertise and positions over time, and realizing value when a company reaches a stage where a different owner is better positioned to take it forward.
In Cognite’s early years, artificial intelligence was still largely viewed through the lens of software and digitalization. Since then, the technology has evolved from a specialized topic into something influencing capital allocation, industrial competitiveness, infrastructure development, and energy systems across the world.
Cognite developed alongside that shift. In many ways, so did Aker.
Building Cognite
When we began the work that eventually became Cognite, neither DataOps nor industrial AI were established categories.
The starting point was straightforward. Industrial companies generated enormous amounts of data, yet much of it remained difficult to access, connect, and use in a meaningful way.
We believed that could be changed. In 2016, we began exploring how digital technologies could make industrial operations more productive, profitable, safer, and less emission-intensive.
From that work, Cognite was established in January 2017 by Aker together with co-founders John Markus Lervik, Stein Danielsen, and Geir Engdahl. Supported by a small team of specialists, they brought together a combination of expertise and leadership that shaped the company from the very beginning.
What followed was nearly a decade of development.
Over time, Cognite developed into a global industrial data and AI company. Cognite Data Fusion (CDF) gave industrial customers a way to structure and contextualize operational data. More recently, Cognite has expanded its AI capabilities through Atlas AI and Dune, delivering workflows, agents, and decision support that close the distance between data, domain expertise, and operational decisions to help turn industrial data into operational insight.
Together with employees, customers, and co-investors including Accel, TCV, and Aramco, Cognite has earned global recognition for its role in shaping industrial data and AI.
Looking back, Cognite took shape during one of the most significant technological shifts in decades. The decision to build the company proved more consequential than we could have known at the time.
Active Ownership in Practice
Aker has invested approximately NOK 750 million in Cognite. Following the settlement of convertible loans, we expect to receive NOK 14.7 billion in cash consideration from Schneider Electric — equivalent to approximately 20x invested capital in under 10 years.
The transaction represents a valuation of 24 times annual recurring revenue, making it the largest transaction of its kind in Norway and among the largest in Europe within industrial software.
The financial outcome is significant. What stands out to me, however, is how the Cognite story is an example of Aker’s ownership in practice.
Over the last ten years, we have contributed capital, industrial access, customer relationships, and experience from building companies across multiple industries. The knowledge and experience we gained in return through Cognite are — in my view — equally valuable to the resulting transaction.
Technology companies are often discussed as if they exist separately from the industries they serve. Cognite took a different path. Its development was shaped by close interaction with industrial customers operating complex assets in demanding environments. That proximity mattered.
The company benefitted from understanding how industrial systems function, where information breaks down, and where technology could make a meaningful difference.
Those experiences have influenced far more than Cognite itself. They have expanded how we think about technology, industrial development, and where future opportunities are likely to emerge.
The Next Phase
The original plan was to continue building Cognite rather than selling it. Interest from multiple parties, combined with the preference of different stakeholders, changed the perspective. The decision to sell Cognite was based on both value and industrial fit.
The market for industrial AI is maturing rapidly. Customers increasingly want solutions that combine software capability, operational context, industry expertise, and global delivery. Schneider Electric provides that platform.
Through its subsidiary AVEVA, Schneider Electric has built one of the world's leading industrial software businesses. Combining that platform with Cognite's data and AI capabilities creates new opportunities for customers and employees alike.
For Cognite, Schneider Electric provides scale, reach, customer access, and technology leadership. For Aker, the transaction realizes substantial value while placing the company with an owner capable of supporting its next phase of growth. Aker companies will remain both customers and development partners of Cognite, continuing the close industrial relationship that has defined our collaboration from the start.
At Aker and Nscale, we also know Schneider Electric as an important technology supplier to data centers. That provides a strong basis for continued collaboration.
AI Remains a Strategic Priority
The Cognite journey gave us a front-row seat to one of the most consequential technological developments of our time. While the chapter is now closed, the transaction does not change our conviction that technology will remain a powerful driver of industrial development in the years ahead. Through Nscale, we are building a significant position in what we believe will be the next phase of AI development.
Nscale’s strategy is based on building an AI platform company that runs on Nscale infrastructure. Compute service is at the core of that strategy. Demand for computing continues to accelerate as AI proliferates into every enterprise and workflow, and inference is overtaking training of models. Every application deployed, every user onboarded, and every query answered represents incremental and recurring demand for compute infrastructure.
Diversification is a natural next step for Nscale, across its customer base, geographical footprint, and product offering. The ambition is to capture a larger share of customers’ AI spending by expanding beyond infrastructure into higher-value services and software. Nscale aims to be the preferred platform for building and deploying AI workloads. Over time, success will be measured not only by compute capacity delivered, but by the value created for customers.
Aker BP and the Norwegian Continental Shelf: A Decade of Value Creation
A more focused investment strategy is ultimately about deciding where to place long-term commitments. Few, if any, has been more important to Aker than Aker BP.
These days mark ten years since we announced the establishment of the company through the merger of Det norske oljeselskap and BP Norge. Together, we have built one of the most efficient offshore oil and gas companies in the world with production costs around USD 7.3 per barrel and CO2 emissions at 2.8 kilograms per barrel.
Aker BP’s tenth anniversary is also a reminder of how differently the Norwegian Continental Shelf has developed from what many expected.
For years, forecasts have pointed to declining activity. Instead, technology, higher recovery rates, improved execution, and new discoveries have continued to expand the opportunity set. At the same time, energy security has moved higher on the agenda, reinforcing the value of stable and predictable sources of supply.
The essence can be summarized in one sentence: Aker BP, a pure play on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, has been a tremendous success.
Together with BP, Aker has contributed to strong operational and financial performance through consistent focus on operations, technology, and continuous improvement. Production has grown from 62,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the second quarter of 2016 to close to 400,000 today, with further growth expected to approximately 525,000 barrels per day once Yggdrasil reaches full production.
Over the past decade, Aker has received NOK 22.7 billion in dividends from Aker BP, and the company has delivered an average annual shareholder return of approximately 25 percent. That has provided a solid foundation for predictable dividends to our shareholders and helped finance new ventures and make investments across the portfolio.
The Norwegian Continental Shelf's ability to adapt remains one of its defining characteristics. Today, it offers substantial opportunities, including subsea developments, tie-backs, modifications, and enhanced recovery projects. The resource base remains significant, while competitive costs, low emissions, and a highly capable supplier industry continue to strengthen its position.
The world will continue to need oil and gas for decades to come, even in scenarios where climate targets are achieved. At the same time, wars in both Europe and the Middle East have reshaped energy markets and trade flows. Dependence on imported energy has exposed vulnerabilities that were easy to overlook when markets functioned normally. In that environment, Norway's role as a stable, predictable, and trusted supplier becomes increasingly important. The same is true for companies like Aker BP, which are well positioned to meet demand over the long term.
Aker BioMarine: Building for Growth
In recent months, Aker BioMarine has evaluated a range of alternatives for accelerating growth and creating shareholder value. Industrial and financial investors have expressed interest in ownership, but none have presented proposals that, in our view, adequately reflect the market opportunity ahead.
Global supply of marine omega-3 has been under structural pressure for some time. Supply from South America has been particularly affected by El Niño and rising sea temperatures. At the same time, demand for omega-3 products continues to grow.
Aker BioMarine is well positioned to benefit from these market conditions. The company is the world’s second-largest supplier of omega-3 and has delivered 20 percent annual growth in krill oil revenues over the past three years.
More importantly, Aker BioMarine’s position is difficult to replicate. The company has built a leading position with over 90 percent market share in the global krill oil market, on the back of a supply chain with MSC-certified fishery that is sustainably managed. Reliable access to raw materials, combined with global presence and distribution platform, gives Aker BioMarine a competitive advantage in a market where customers increasingly prioritize security of supply over price.
Taking Aker BioMarine private allows us to pursue the current market opportunity with the benefit of patient capital, deep operational experience, and existing market positions. Our ownership strategy is to take Aker BioMarine into its next phase of development, with the resources and commitment required to accelerate growth.
For minority shareholders, the offer provides a choice between an attractive and certain cash offer, or an opportunity to participate in the value creation of a broader and more diversified Aker.
Since its listing in 2020, Aker BioMarine has delivered an accumulated shareholder return of approximately 30 percent. Still, we believe the company’s next phase will require a form of ownership that is less constrained by short-term market expectations and better aligned with long-term industrial development.
This is familiar ground for Aker. Over decades, we have built companies through their formative stages, where long-term value depends on active ownership and a willingness to invest through cycles. We have seen how patient industrial ownership creates lasting value. Few are better positioned to support Aker BioMarine in realizing its future full potential.
A More Focused Aker
The range of opportunities in front of us today is broader than at any point I can remember during my more than 17 years in the CEO seat. New industries have emerged, existing industries have been reshaped, and entirely new forms of infrastructure have become strategically important.
That has not made the job easier. If anything, it has made focus more important.
Increasingly, our capital, expertise, and attention are directed toward a smaller number of larger opportunities where we believe we can play a meaningful role in the outcome.
Over time, Aker has built companies, developed positions patiently, and realized value when the timing and industrial logic have been right. The capital is then put to work again where we see the greatest opportunity to build.
Aker continually develop and change but the importance of highly talented people will never change. Behind every dollar earned in shareholder value is a leadership and a management team who executes on the strategic directions set by Aker and our fellow stakeholders. They all deserve credit and thanks for their contributions to our success. The collaboration with them is a continued source of inspiration to identify and pursue new opportunities for Aker.
That brings the first half of 2026 to a close. Thank you to our employees, partners, and shareholders for your continued trust and collaboration. I wish you all a restful summer.
Regards,
Øyvind