Two major players in the subsea-engineering sector join forces later this week in a move creating a combined workforce in the north-east of around 1,500 people.
Acergy and Subsea 7 Incorporated, both listed on the Oslo stock exchange announced their all-share agreement last June. The deal, worth around £1.75billion, is expected to complete on Friday.
The international firms both have large operations at Westhill, near Aberdeen.
Subsea 7 has nearly 1,000 working out of its north-east site, while Acergy has more than 500.
It is still not clear what impact, if any, the acquisition of Subsea 7 by Acergy might have on north-east jobs. It is understood some support posts could be under threat but it is hoped that these workers will be redeployed elsewhere within the enlarged company.
The companies have forecast that the deal will lead to annual cost savings of at least £67million, leading to fears that posts will go from the combined worldwide workforce of about 12,000.
A spokesman for Cayman Islands-registered Subsea 7 yesterday said it was too early to say if there would be job implications at Westhill, while Acergy could not be contacted.
The new business, known as Subsea 7, will be worth more than £3.6billion.
In a joint statement, Acergy and Subsea 7 said: “The completion of the combination is expected to take place following the closing of the Oslo Børs (stock exchange) on Friday.”
Last month, Acergy offered to sell a pipelay vessel and possibly a diving ship to address competition concerns prompted by its takeover move.
The UK’s Office of Fair Trading said it would consider divestment options and the suitability of any proposed buyers of the ships before making a decision on whether to refer the deal to the UK Competition Commission or let it go through.
A statement from the OFT to the City said the two firms overlapped in the provision of certain oilfield services.
Both operate in the North Sea and use different vessels to provide a range of services for various types of projects, including diving, pipelaying, construction and remote intervention services.
While there were no competition concerns on diving or construction or remote intervention services, there were issues in the supply of services for pipelaying, including integrated pipelay and diving.