Harald Torgersen

"The final straw was when Kjell Inge Røkke on one occasion took out a loan for 20 million dollars on behalf of American Seafoods and used Harald Torgersen's name on the loan document – allegedly without Torgersen's consent. There was an uproar and Torgersen immediately resigned from his position as president of the company. It looked bleak in every way, both for Røkke and the fishing company. Røkke was saved by the Norwegian real estate market which began to look up. There were significant values in front of the eyes of the banks, and they accepted that Kjell Inge Røkke provided a personal guarantee for the debt to save the shipping company. Without the real estate values in Norway, it would never have worked, and Kjell Inge Røkke was furious that the partners had failed in such a serious situation."

"For Røkke, there was only one thing to do - retaliate in the same coin. He had some good cards in hand, for it is always a tremendous advantage to have the majority. Actually, the outcome had been clear from the start – Røkke could choose between two approaches: Either to completely ignore the partners and let them sit with their pitiful percentages, or he could buy them out. It was a devil's dilemma for Helge Møgster and Harald Torgersen, but they really had no choice. Dejectedly, they accepted Røkke’s offer to buy them out. It was an offer they couldn’t refuse ..."