About 400 Scottish jobs were saved yesterday with the sale of the fabrication division of Sovereign Oilfield Group.
The operation has been acquired by Global Energy Group, which has its main offices in Aberdeen and Inverness.
The sale, for an undisclosed sum, comes after Aberdeen-based Sovereign went into administration on Wednesday, February 24.
The deal involves six firms in the fabrication division: Caledonian Petroleum Services, Cooltime Engineering Services, Oil Engineering, Labtech Services, Sovereign Dimensional Survey and Forfab.
These accounted for the bulk of the Sovereign workforce, while a buyer is still being sought for operations in the drilling division.
Joint administrator Bruce Cartwright, of PricewaterhouseCoopers, said yesterday: “We are delighted to have successfully concluded terms with Global – a company with solid and strong credentials – to take the fabrication division forward.
“It has been particularly satisfying to have reached this conclusion so swiftly, preserving jobs in the Aberdeen and Dunfermline area in the process.
“I would like to acknowledge the ongoing support we have had from customers, suppliers, management and the employees. The contribution from these parties has made a real difference.
“We remain committed to delivering a positive outcome with respect to the remaining trading entities within the drilling division.”
Global operates in locations across Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia, and has a workforce of more than 2,500.
Chairman Roy MacGregor said of the latest buy: “All six companies add to and complement our existing portfolio of services. It was clear to us these are well established brands, with skilled people working in markets that have potential to develop and grow.
“It has been difficult times for these companies over an extended period of time and I would like to reassure their clients of our commitment to invest and support these businesses in continuing to serve their markets to the highest-quality standards.
“It must be remembered these acquisitions were concluded in just over a week and so our concentration of effort and priorities thus far has been to secure the deal to protect the various companies’ trading positions.
“We now need to take a closer look at each company, their facilities and their people to establish a clear way forward.”
Lloyds Banking Group supported Global in the Sovereign deal. It is the fourth acquisition by Global in 12 months funded by the part-nationalised bank.
Mr MacGregor praised Pat Reilly, large corporate area director with Lloyds, and his team for “pulling out all the stops” on the Sovereign deal.
Sovereign had been in the news frequently because of its problems.
In January, its shares plunged by 50% on the day it told investors it was uncertain its future trading performance would be able to support its debts.
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