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Renaissance Services SAOG
(RENAISSANCE) through its 100% owned subsidiary Topaz
Energy and Marine Ltd. Dubai (TOPAZ) has acquired the
entire shareholding of BUE Marine Limited, UK (BUE). The
deal was signed in Edinburgh on 15th July 2005. The
outgoing shareholders of BUE included 3i Group plc,
Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein Limited and 3 senior
managers of the company. With this acquisition, the
combined marine business of BUE and TOPAZ will rank
amongst the top 10 offshore support vessel operators in
the world with a geographical footprint in the Caspian,
the Middle East and S.E. Asia. RENAISSANCE had announced
its intention to acquie BUE in June this year and has
concluded the transaction in a few weeks thereafter. |
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File shot of Mr.
Samir J Fancy Chairman Renaissance Services and
Rutherford Chairmain BUE Marine taken at the
TEAM office recently |
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BUE has its headquarters in the UK and currently operates
primarily in the Caspian region. Established in 1991, BUE
has historically provided and managed marine support
vessels for the offshore oil & gas sector in the North Sea
and the Caspian. In recent years, BUE has invested heavily
and now operates a diversified fleet of 42 vessels
comprising supply vessels, anchor-handling tugs,
accommodation vessels, icebreakers, work barges, and
utility boats. As part of its ambitious fleet expansion
program, it has another 19 vessels and barges under
construction in shipyards with further orders to follow.
The enterprise value of the company including the current
new build programme underway is in the region of USD 150
Million. BUE’s current operations are supported by Lloyds
TSB plc and Bank of Scotland.
TOPAZ is also in the offshore support vessel business and
operates in the Middle East, S.E. Asia, and West Africa.
The BUE and TOPAZ customer base comprises almost all the
leading international oil & gas companies such as Shell,
BP, Total, Statoil, Agip etc. with both companies having
established a reputation as quality fleet operators.
The BUE group employs over 600 people. Key senior
executives including their CEO will continue with the
enlarged group. TOPAZ has total employee strength of
around 1200 while RENAISSANCE has close to 3000 people
working for it in various businesses.
RENAISSANCE acquired TOPAZ earlier this year to create one
of the largest services companies in Oman with a diverse
group of businesses. Based on the audited results, the
combined turnover of the 2 companies for the year ended
December 2004 was over USD 225 Million with Net Profit in
excess of USD 40 Million. A key driver for the merger was
to create a company, which would be able to grow rapidly
in its principal businesses through acquisitions. BUE fits
in with this plan and will contribute approximately
another USD 100M of annual turnover to the group with
commensurate profitability. The acquisition has involved
an investment of approximately USD 40 Million via NICO
Middle East Ltd, a TOPAZ subsidiary. This comprises
purchase consideration for
the shares as well as discharge of certain liabilities of
BUE upon change of its shareholding. This transaction has
been partially funded from additional borrowings by the
group that have been provided by local and international
banks.
From a strategic viewpoint, BUE is operating in a market
that does not overlap with the current operations of
TOPAZ, with substantial potential for further growth in
this region for other businesses within the RENAISSANCE
group. |
