Subsea services group Acteon has agreed to acquire offshore marine geotechnical and geophysical survey company Benthic, the company said on April 11.

Headquartered in Houston, TX, Benthic adds leading deepwater and ultradeepwater surveying capabilities to Acteon through its proprietary portable remotely operated drill (PROD) technology. Benthic’s latest generation PROD system can conduct in-situ penetration testing and collect samples and cores in extremely challenging conditions, including seabed slopes greater than 20 degrees and water depths exceeding 3,000 m (9,842 ft).

Benthic has undertaken comprehensive geotechnical site investigations and geophysical surveys in all the world’s deepwater basins. Work has recently been executed in South America in water depths exceeding 2,100 m (6,889 ft), and the latest equipment upgrades enable operations in depths up to 4,000 m (13,123 ft), and there are plans to expand services to include offshore wind and scientific research.

“Having Benthic in our portfolio greatly enhances Acteon’s existing survey businesses and further strengthens the group’s global offer; we plan to continue its existing program of capital expenditure to ensure it can service growing worldwide customer demand,” Richard Higham, Acteon CEO, said.

The transaction is expected to complete in May 2019. Steve Pywell, Benthic CEO, will continue to lead the team and will help Acteon to provide its clients with an increasingly comprehensive geosciences service to meet their requirements around the world.

Acteon’s principal advisors for the transaction were Evercore, Clifford Chance and KPMG.