---

Negotiations for the sale of OW Bunker are taking place with "six to eight companies", Danish newspaper Berlingske reports.

In an article published today, entitled 'Only a handful of large buyers for OW', the news service includes an interview with Tonny Skovsted Thorup [pictured], Business Manager at BusinessAalborg - an initiative with a mission to support growth and jobs in Aalborg, North Jutland.

Skovsted is quoted as saying: "We are probing the market, but if you look at some of those who are most obvious, we are down to six to eight pieces. It is both domestic and foreign competitors of OW."

Skovsted did not reveal the stage of the negotiations, but explained that potential investors would be interested in OW Bunker's customer data, their IT systems and, in particular, their employees.

"Many of the [OW Bunker] employees are of interest to related industries. We have a lot of trading companies dealing with electricity and food and so on, and we have received many inquiries from several in Aalborg, who are interested in OW Bunker's employees," Skovsted told Berlingske.

Keld R. Demant, the CEO of Bunker Holding A/S - part of United Shipping & Trading Company (USTC) group and owner of marine fuel specialists A/S Dan-Bunkering Ltd and A/S Trumf Bunker - has already publicly confirmed that he thinks there is a good opportunity for his firm to employ some former OW Bunker members of staff.

Steen Møller, Managing Director of Nordic Marine Oil and Malik Supply, also recently said that Nordic Marine Oil was prepared to take part of OW Bunker's workforce.

"It is important to keep as much of OW Bunker's turnover in Denmark as possible," Møller said in an emailed statement on November 11.

"We have suffered in terms of image loss in the bunker industry, but it is not impossible to maintain a large portion of the $100 billion turnover which is now in play in Danish hands. Both we and others are ready to take over parts of the workforce and turnover, and in our view it is urgent to re-establish confidence in the Danish industry," he added.