Harvey Gulf International Marine, the New Orleans-based LNG-fueled PSV owner and LNG bunkering pioneer, put in a merger proposal to GulfMark Offshore.
The combined company would remain publicly listed, with GulfMark stockholders owning 41.2 percent and Harvey Gulf stockholders owning 58.5 percent of the combined company.
HGIM noted in its statement that the proposal provides GulfMark stockholders with a value of $41.64 per share of GulfMark common stock which represents a 25.0 percent premium to GulfMark’s closing price on July 13, 2018.
Harvey’s proposal also represents a 23.6 percent premium over the value of stock consideration to be paid to GulfMark stockholders as part of the proposed acquisition of GulfMark by Tidewater.
However, in a separate statement, GulfMark said that Harvey gulf’s enterprise value of $900 million has not been validated by the company.
GulfMark said it will review Harvey Gulf’s proposal and has not yet made a determination whether the proposal is a ‘superior offer’ under the terms of Tidewater merger agreements.
The company’s board of directors has advised its stockholders to take no action at this time, adding that the Tidewater merger is still considered to be in the best interest of its stockholders.