Aban Loyd pays $445 mn for 33.8% in Norway's Sinvest

Aban Singapore Pte Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Aban Loyd Chiles Offshore Ltd, is in the process of acquiring a 33.76 per cent stake in Norwegian drilling company Sinvest for $445 million (about Rs 2,039 crore).

Control over Sinvest's assets will place Aban Loyd Chiles among the top 10 offshore drilling service providers.

Aban Loyd Chiles provides offshore drilling services and has a fleet of seven jack-up rigs, including one under construction, two drill ships and one floating production unit.

The Indian promoters hold 39.76 per cent in Aban Loyd and the foreign promoters 36.17 per cent, including foreign institutional investors and global depository receipts.

Aban Loyd reported a 45 per cent jump in net profits to Rs 83.81 crore in 2005-06 from Rs 57.71 crore the previous year. The company's net sales grew 70 per cent to Rs 490.16 crore in 2005-06.

Commenting on the acquisition, Reji Abraham, managing director, Aban Loyd, said: "The proposed acquisition of a large stake in Sinvest will enable Aban Loyd to further its mission of becoming a significant global player in the oil field services industry. Sinvest's asset portfolio consists of premium new-builds, which are expected to meet the growing needs of oil exploration and production companies in their new reserve acquisitions."

The acquisition is structured thus. Aban Singapore has entered into an agreement with Skeie Group AS to buy 20.4 million shares in Sinvest ASA, a company listed on the Oslo stock exchange.

The acquisition will reflect 33.76 per cent of the voting share capital of Sinvest. The transaction is based on an equity value of about $1,320 million (about Rs 6,049 crore) for Sinvest and an enterprise value of about $2,250 million (about Rs 10,311 crore).

The final purchase agreement is expected to be completed in three weeks.

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