Norwegian oil service investment company Akastor is in advanced discussions with Japanese trading and investment company Mitsui to further expand their current partnership to include AKOFS Offshore.
Akastor-owned AKOFS Offshore is a vessel-based subsea well construction and intervention services provider.
Akastor and Mitsui have entered into a memorandum of understanding according to which Mitsui, together with potential partners, will invest in AKOFS by purchasing 50% of the shares in the company to form a new 50-50 joint venture, Akastor said on Wednesday.
The transaction is expected to result in an initial net cash release to Akastor of approximately $142 million for the shares in AKOFS, with a potential further cash release depending on earnings generated by the well intervention vessel AKOFS Seafarer in the coming years.
“We are pleased to have reached this important milestone and believe the transaction will provide a beneficial long-term ownership structure for AKOFS. The prospect of expanding our current partnership with Mitsui is exciting and we look forward to further developing the cooperation in the coming years,” says Kristian Røkke , CEO of Akastor.
Through the transaction, Mitsui will assume an active role in the further support and development of AKOFS together with Akastor as a long-term business partner.
The transaction still remains subject to agreement on final terms and conditions, final due diligence, the entry of definitive agreements between Akastor and Mitsui and BoD approvals for all respective parties. Completion of the transaction is expected to occur in the first quarter of 2018.
In a similar move a little over a year ago, Akastor and Mitsui signed a heads of agreement to create a joint venture with 50/50 ownership between AKOFS Offshore and Mitsui. The joint venture acquired the hull of Skandi Santos vessel from DOF Subsea Rederi and the Skandi Santos topside from AKOFS. Under the deal, the joint venture entered into a lease agreement with AKOFS corresponding to the remaining contract duration between AKOFS and Petrobras.