Two significant oil service trade deals that will result in service companies Altra and RBG coming under new ownership are close to completion in Aberdeen.
Energy can exclusively reveal that two bidders are competing for control of fabric maintenance and construction services firm RBG, which employs 5,000 worldwide.
Until late last week, it was thought that energy engineering consultancy Xodus would be acquiring Altra Energy to create a new force with nearly 330 on the payroll, but it seems that another contestant may have entered the ring to bid for control of the Norwegian-owned but Aberdeen company.
However they finalise, both deals are intended to preserve jobs; indeed the accent will be on growth set against a very buoyant outlook for the UK and global upstream oil and gas industry.
The competitors for RBG are, anecdotally, the Dutch group Stork and London-based private equity player BC Partner. In Stork’s case, the prime mover is Candover, which bought the industrial systems and services company for about $2billion in 2007.
Late last year, there was speculation that Investor Montagu Private Equity was stalking RBG with a view to buying the whole business, including a 50% stake controlled by venture-capital company 3i, in a transaction with a headline value of £200million.
The other 50% of RBG is owned by marine logistics firm Ashley Group, whose majority shareholder is RBG chairman John Ray.
Energy is advised that 3i is keen to conclude a deal before the end of the current fiscal year – basically the end of March.
Ray, who lives at Nuffield, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, founded one of the three firms that were merged to create RBG in 2004.
Rigblast Group was set up by Ray in 1975, and joined forces with MacGregor Energy and Mach-Ten Offshore in the venture to create RBG, which has been owned jointly by Ashley Group and 3i from the start. Ray is the majority owner of Ashley and stands to make millions from whatever deal is cut.
Based at Dyce, RBG and its 5,000 global employees provide fabric maintenance and construction support to the global energy industry.
Its most recent set of accounts at Companies House showed pre-tax profits of £5.46million on turnover of £261.84million during 2008.
RBG is probably a good fit with Stork, with no discernible overlaps. Moreover, the Dutch group has interests in Aberdeen, notably integrity specialist iicorr.
However, while the Aberdeen oilfield community appears convinced that Stork will win the day, we are advised that it is not a done deal and that BC Partners is a keen buyer.
Established in 1986, BC Partners has played an active role in developing the European buyout market for more than 20 years. It has so far invested in 74 companies with a total enterprise value of £58billion.
RBG’s chief executive Dave Workman said in a statement to Energy: “I am, for reasons of confidentiality, unable to confirm the parties with whom we are holding discussions.
“I can confirm that RBG has been considering options for some time to gain access to additional finance with which to accelerate the growth of the business.
“With our global operation and access to a quality client base we have every reason to be confident in the future of the company.”
On a smaller scale, but no less important to Aberdeen, the sale of Altra will, when sold to Xodus or one of its competitors, create a substantial engineering services force.
If Xodus ultimately wins the bidding contest, that will likely lead to the return of Danny McGowan to the limelight.
He left Altra several months ago, having failed to drive through his growth plans for the consultancy with its Norwegian owners Subsea Technology Group (STG).
Altra became involved with STG in 2008, following the collapse of prior owner, Aberdeen company Vienco.
Prior to that, McGowan had led Altra clear of the dying Vienco with help from HITEC Vision, which injected £1million of private equity into the engineering consultancy at that time.
Altra is a multi-disciplined consultancy which specialises in process, safety, maintenance reliability and structural engineering services to the oil and gas industry.
The understanding is that all Altra employees – estimated at more than 60 – would transfer to Xodus with the existing contracts, should that deal complete.
At this point, it is unclear as to who the other party might be. However, there is a general push towards further consolidation within the oil and gas supply chain and good quality engineers are in short supply.
Another engineering consultancy that might possibly be on the market is Prospect. Its Australian parent was recently obliged to restructure its business as a result of trading difficulties.
Like Altra, Prospect is a respected and valuable resource.