A US private-equity firm has taken control of Aberdeen subsea firm Integrated Subsea Services (ISS) in a deal understood to be worth more than £70million, it was announced yesterday.
Oaktree Capital Management has taken a 62.5% stake in ISS, the owner and operator of a fleet of remotely-operated vehicles used by the oil and gas industry.
Most of the proceeds of the deal are understood to have gone to Lloyds Banking Group, which sold its substantial stake in ISS. As part of the agreement, ISS will get access to a fleet of four vessels operated by Iremis Offshore, another firm owned by Oaktree.
ISS director and co-founder Ian Herd said: “In this currently very tight market, access to these vessels will give us a vital competitive edge. The management will remain in place spearheading the growth plans and working closely with Iremis and Oaktree.”
ISS was set up by Mr Herd and fellow-director Bruce Webster in 2002. In the first year it had two ROVs generating about £2.5million of sales. It now has a fleet of 23 ROVs, 140 core onshore staff and access to about 500 offshore contractors. The annual turnover has risen from £73million in the year to the end of September 31, 2011, to £100million. A spokesman said the firm expects this to increase to £150million in the next 12 months.