Papendrecht, 3 March 2014
Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. (Boskalis) announces that it has reached an agreement to acquire Fairmount Marine B.V. and Fairmount Ocean Towage Company B.V. (Fairmount) from the French group Louis Dreyfus Armateurs. The transaction values the company at an average multiple of approximately 6 times EBITDA.
Fairmount is a leading global provider of long distance ocean towage services operating five 205 tonnes bollard pull towing vessels with anchor handling capabilities.
The addition of these ocean going anchor handling tugs (AHTs) allows Boskalis to further expand its market position in both offshore energy and salvage. The use of ocean going tugs for long distance wet towage is complementary to Boskalis' current dry heavy marine transport offering. With the Fairmount assets, Boskalis can offer clients the full spectrum of heavy marine transport solutions tailored for the type of cargo or specific requirements. The AHTs also have the potential of being deployed into offshore projects thereby expanding Boskalis' current transport and installation offering and can be used in salvage projects.
Boskalis' strategy is aimed at benefitting from key macro-economic factors which drive worldwide demand in our markets: expansion of the global economy, increase in energy consumption, global population growth and the challenges that go hand in hand with climate change. This acquisition is driven by the expansion of the global economy and increase in energy consumption.
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