Ocean Wilsons Holdings Ltd has confirmed that a shareholder intends to oppose its proposed merger with Hansa Investment Co Ltd at a Bermuda court hearing next week.

In July, the boards of Ocean Wilsons and Hansa announced plans for an all-share combination under which Hansa would acquire the entire issued share capital of Ocean Wilsons, a Bermudian-based investment holding company.

The deal is being pursued through a court-sanctioned scheme of arrangement under section 99 of the Bermuda Companies Act.

Ocean Wilsons published its scheme document in August.

This month, the company reported that a majority of shareholders had voted in favour of the transaction at a court meeting, surpassing the statutory threshold required.

However, Arnhold LLC has notified the company that it intends to appear at the sanction hearing, scheduled for Monday, to object to the deal.

Arnhold has also invited Ocean Wilsons to agree to a four-week adjournment of the hearing to prepare its case.

The Ocean Wilsons Independent Committee said it has engaged with Arnhold “constructively” for several months but has not been given any substantive grounds for delaying the process.

“The Independent Committee sees no reason why the Court Sanction Hearing should be delayed to the detriment of Scheme Shareholders,” the company said.

Ocean Wilsons’ counsel will present its position to the court to day. The company said it will issue further updates following the hearing.