Jacques de Chateauvieux, the chairman of Bourbon, is thinking of taking the offshore services company into private ownership, reports say.
De Chateauvieux’s investment company Jaccar Holdings already owns more than 50% of Bourbon, which is listed publically on the Euronext stock exchange in Paris.
Now the chairman is rumoured to be in talks with financial advisors to acquire the remaining shares in Bourbon, possibly in partnership with another investor, Bloomberg reports.
The potential transaction would depend on market conditions and de Chateauvieux may decide against pursuing the deal, sources told the newswire.
Bourbon formally denied any negotiations were underway that could lead to its delisting when approached by Bloomberg. The chairman is due to deliver a “strategic presentation” on the group’s future on March 29.
Bourbon’s stock is currently trading at around €13.60 per share, some 11.8% below its price 12 months ago.
The company has been hit hard by the rout in oil prices, which has led to weak demand for offshore services. Some 9% of Bourbon Offshore’s marine services fleet is laid up. The company had a total of 44 supply vessels stacked as of the end of 2015, a jump of 13 vessels since its third-quarter results were released in early November.
De Chateauvieux’s brother Henri is Bourbon’s second-largest investor, and reportedly owns about 8% of shares through his investment firm.
