Abu Dhabi’s AD Ports Group has purchased ten offshore vessels that are supposed to bolster offshore operations in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
The investment is around $200 million, into a well-maintained, diversified fleet with an average age of around nine years – less than the industry average. All ten vessels are expected to be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2023 with financial consolidation taking place from the first quarter of 2024 onwards.
The acquisitions from OSV owner and operator E-NAV encompass multipurpose supply vessels (MPSVs), platform supply vessels (PSVs), diving support vessels (DSVs), and accommodation workboats (AWBs).
The transaction also supports AD Ports Group’s strategy to continue to balance its portfolio of maritime businesses with assets and services exposed to different market forces and cycles, thereby limiting its performance volatility, amidst forecasts of an upward trend in the offshore oil and gas market over the medium-long term.
AD Ports Group added that it would take over well-established contracts with “blue chip clients” in the oil and gas industry, national oil companies, and international oil companies in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, expecting a utilisation of around 95% of the existing contracts for the foreseeable future.
The investment is expected to generate more than $70 million per annum in revenue in the next 3-5 years and the transaction would imply a 12-month forward EV/EBITDA of around 5.0x.
