Active Capital

"This is how Fredriksen entered into Active Capital. He was willing to guarantee for the money Active Capital borrowed from the bank, and charged handsomely with one percent interest per month. Moreover, he secured the right to buy some shares. Eventually, there were more and more shares in Fredriksen’s hands. Fredriksen paid up, well encouraged by Tor Olav Trøim, Spetalen's best friend. It was to be a golden moment, which probably wouldn't have happened had Fredriksen not attended a football match one autumn evening in 1996."

"Essentially, Fredriksen and Trøim agreed on the recommendations from their most important brokerage connection. The race was on, and Pareto would hold their hands throughout. In May, just three months later, the investor market was introduced to SeaDrill, Fredriksen's new major venture. In addition to three worn drill rigs, the company comprised the two floating production ships "Crystal Sea" and "Crystal Ocean". It was only mentioned in a footnote in the first prospectus that SeaDrill did not own, but had the option to purchase the ships. The owner was Fredriksen-controlled Active Capital, the debt collection agency that benefitted from the enormous tax deductions associated with the ships when they were picked up from the failed Brøvig company Crystal Productions. Now, the ships were ready for a new round in the Fredriksen family of companies. Half of Norway wanted to subscribe for shares, and Trøim had to diligently cross off names on the subscription list. Just days after the allotment, the price had almost doubled. No one wanted to miss out on a new Frontline. The information was scarce; the brokers had some blurry photos of rigs with Russian names, there were two production ships and a couple of construction contracts. Based on this, ambitious financial projections were made for the coming years."