Dubai: Shuaa Capital, the Dubai asset manager, has made its second inroads into the marine services space, by buying Abu Dhabi based Allianz Marine and Logistics Services Holding Ltd.. Done through one of Shuaa’s funds, this is said to be one of the biggest deals in the region’s maritime offshore space. The value of the deal has not been disclosed.
Allianz operates around 117 owned and chartered offshore support vessels for operations covering the Middle East. The fleet comprises platform supply vessels (PSV), anchor handling tug supply vessels (AHTS), crew boats, accommodation barges, and flat barges. The company provides vessel chartering, port logistics, and crew services to clients including leading international and national oil companies and offshore construction contractors.
The deal is, incidentally, Shuaa’s second in the maritime space after buying out financially ailing Stanford Marine Group in Dubai and then turning it around. Shuaa “expects to derive significant revenue and cost synergies and economies of scale on an annual basis” from the combination of two of the leading OSV (offshore support vehicles) operators in the region.
Bigget regional player
Following the Allianz transaction, Shuaa manages the largest portfolio of 152 offshore supply vessels in the region and the fourth largest OSV fleet in the world.
"We first invested in the sector less than two years ago when we began working on the turnaround of SMG and now have the market leading position in OSVs in the region," said Ajit Joshi, Managing Director and Head of Public and Private Markets at Shuaa. "Allianz‘s complimentary fleet and high-quality team was always a natural fit for us and, as we consolidate our position, we will continue to look for ways to derive additional synergies.
Shuaa strongly believes that the offshore industry will continue to grow, and by creating a leading player in a strategically important segment of the region’s offshore petroleum industry, we are well-positioned to capitalize on this trend.
In Abu Dhabi, there was a recent merger involving NMDC and NPCC to create a maritime powerhouse and target the energy and offshore construction space.
