Aker Solutions which has made two major disposals in the last month expects to continue to divest itself of ‘non-core’ businesses to focus more on the subsea and engineering markets.
Last month AkerSol sold its Pusnes mooring business to CargoTec (SEN, 30/17) and only last week announced the sale of its well intervention services division to Swedish private equity group EQT for NOK4bn ($850mn) plus an earn-out provision based EQT’s rate of return.
Results for the well intervention business this year have been estimated at NOK2.2bn with an EBITIDA of NOK511mn.
EQT also owns Tampnet, the Norwegianbased offshore fibre optic cable communications network which it acquired from HiTec Vision in 2012.
Next up in its shop window will be its oil services and marine assets. SEN has been told that Aker Oilfield Services which has three hi-spec intervention vessels – Skandi Santos, Skandi Aker and Wayfarer – all currently on charters of varying lengths from three months to 18 months and a staff of 150 is on the table with a tentative value of NOK4bn ($650mn).
AkerSol also holds a 50% stake in Aker DOF Subsea which owns and operates five anchor handling tugs. This stake is put at NOK500mn or about $80mn. And there are the 72mn shares in Ezra (similar value to Aker DOF) which came via the sale of Aker Marine Contractors.
The new corporate strategy which was outlined in yesterday’s Capital Markets Day is to focus on streamlining the business and reducing risk and big capital outlays, while taking advantage of the continued strong growth in the subsea market.
It has slimmed its business structure from nine areas to six - minus the two just sold and the one on the block - but really down to two - engineering-maintenance-modifications and subsea-drilling-umbilicals-products and four regional hubs - Norway, UK, the USA and Brazil.
The first will be a low capital area with aim of achieving high margins, while the second will attract medium to high investment, but with the bigger potential for growth.
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