Financially troubled Lamprell has struck a takeover deal with two major shareholders that values the company at £38.8m ($46.5m).
The UAE-based fabricator Lamprell has reached an agreement with Thunderball Investments, a newly formed company owned by Blofeld Investment Management and AlGihaz, to sell the entire issued and to be issued share capital not already held by the two companies.
Blofeld, which owns around 25% of Lamprell, and AlGihaz’s chief executive, Sami Al Angair, who owns just shy of 20%, have offered 9 pence in cash for each Lamprell share. The move will see Lamprell delisted from the London Stock Exchange.
Following the completion of the offer and the delisting of Lamprell’s shares and its re-registration as a private company, Lamprell shareholders who choose not to accept the offer will remain Lamprell shareholders in its unlisted private form.
Thunderball said it believes that Lamprell would benefit from being in private ownership, facilitating a recapitalisation and recalibration of the business. The bidder added that it expects that some rationalisation and restructuring will be required and that it intends to continue to adopt the current restructuring plans for Lamprell’s business and operations, which have the intention of creating three discrete business units for renewables, oil and gas and digital.
“Operating as a private company with a simplified corporate structure and a reduced regulatory burden, Lamprell will be able to benefit from the elimination of the numerous costs associated with maintaining a UK public quotation as well as the removal of the short term financial expectations of the market,” the newly formed vehicle said in a statement.
Lamprell needs $95m by the end of July and a further $164m in the medium term. The company added it had agreed to a $145m bridging loan with various parties related to its proposed buyers to see it through to the deal’s completion. However, in the event an offer on an equity basis and bridging financing cannot be obtained in the very near term, Lamprell noted it “will need to consider and take steps to implement alternatives which seek to protect the interests of financial creditors, commercial counterparties and employees.”
