Gulf rig outfit taps London for $100m of cash
GULF Marine Services yesterday announced plans to float on the London stock market in a deal valuing the oil services company at $1bn.
The company, which is headquartered in Abu Dhabi but has offices near Aberdeen, said it expects to raise $100m in an initial offering of shares, which it will use to purchase a new ship and repay a loan.
Gulf Marine Services operates a core fleet of nine self-elevated, self-propelled vessels that are used to refurbish and maintain offshore oil and gas platforms, across the Middle East, North Africa and Northwest Europe.
“Our vessels are in high demand by our clients and we believe demand for our vessels, and for the (self-elevated support vessel) market as a whole, will continue to increase significantly over the rest of the decade,” chief executive Duncan Anderson said.
“This gives us confidence to proceed with the planned expansion of our fleet which the net proceeds of the IPO will help to accelerate.”
The company’s current majority owners, Gulf Capital, are also expected to sell a portion of their holdings alongside minority investors, Green Investment Commercial Investments, Ocean Investments Trading, Horizon Energy and Al Ain Capital.
The amount of additional shares being offered alongside the $100m has not yet been disclosed while a price range has not yet been determined.
Barclays and Bank of America Merrill Lynch are acting as global coordinators on the offering.
JP Morgan Cazenove is acting as a bookrunner and Rothschild is acting as an independent financial advisor.
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher is acting as co-counsel alongside Linklaters to the business.
The business has plans for a further six vessels between now and 2016, which the company says is attractive to an industry putting up with older vessels. Around 64 per cent of oil and gas platforms in the key offshore drilling regions are more than 20 years old, according to the company.
The business is just one of a host of energy-related companies hoping to tap buoyant stock markets by the end of the year.
Oilfield services giant Expro Holdings and Nigerian oil and gas exploration company Seplat Petroleum Development are just two of the names tipped to come to the stock market this year.
Last year Gulf Marine Services posted revenues of $184.3m, up from of $106.9m made in 2011. The company said it expects to pay dividends to shareholders from this year.
ADVISERS GULF MARINE SERVICES
JAMES BARABAS
GIBSON, DUNN & CRUTCHER
Helping Gulf Marine Services navigate the intricacies of the London market is James Barabas, who works in the London office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.
Barabas, who specialises in helping companies with M&A and fundraising activities, has worked on a number of high profile deals.
He has advised fellow Dubai-based private equity company Investcorp on its £450m disposal of Moody International as well as its acquisition of oil field services provider Hydrasun.
Barabas, who graduated with a law degree from Durham University, has worked on capital fundraising for AGC Equity Partners – on its investment in UK designer brand Amanda Wakeley – as well as a host of deals for venture capital firm M8 Capital.
Flotation-wise, he worked on the £250m float of London & Stamford Property and the listing of UK fund manager Henderson Group.
He has also worked on governance issues for Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Close Brothers, New Look, Scottish Power and Zurich Financial.
Barabas joined Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in 2006 from an unnamed magic circle law firm.