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Report: Seadrill and Transocean Are in Merger Talks
Two giants of the offshore drilling industry, Seadrill and Transocean, are quietly engaged in talks on a merger, Bloomberg reports. Seadrill's stock jumped nearly 10 percent on Thursday on news of the potential merger.
The details of the combination remain private, and no final decision has been reached. Both firms have declined requests for comment.
A merger would allow the two firms greater heft to compete with Noble Corp., the world's largest offshore drilling company. Noble has grown rapidly through M&A, acquiring both Maersk Drilling and Diamond Offshore during a period of rapid consolidation in the industry.
Last month, Seadrill CEO Simon Johnson said that his firm was looking for opportunities to buy distressed assets and distressed companies, or to merge with another drilling company. "We haven't seen the end of consolidation," Johnson told an investor conference. At the same gathering, Transocean COO Keelan Adamson said that his firm sees room left for "one big consolidation" in the industry.
Seadrill underwent two rounds of debt restructuring after the 2014 offshore downturn, and founder John Fredriksen - Norway's wealthiest businessman - lost control of one of his flagship companies. It is now a New York-listed public firm with a smaller head count and fleet size.
Kuppy Kupperman, manager of hedge fund Praetorian Capital, said in a social media that a Seadrill-Transocean would drive up rates and create more consolidation opportunities. In a smaller market, competitors Valaris and Noble might have more leverage to take over other small players, leaving the international drilling industry with three large companies.
Boluda Makes Finnish Acquisitions Continuing Tug Sector Consolidation
Spain’s Boluda Group is continuing its rapid acquisitions across the tug and towboat sector as it works to further expand leadership in the industry. The latest acquisition of a family-owned small towboat company in Finland the company says is part of a strategy to consolidate its presence in Northern Europe and its expansion plans through the entry into Scandinavia.
Boluda is acquiring Yxpila Hinaus-Bogsering, which bills itself as the leading harbor towage company in the Gulf of Bothnia. The company was founded in 1981 and reports it has changed ownership several times with the current team in place since 2009. It has 18 employees and a fleet of six vessels, of which five are icebreakers.
“This purchase is a further step in our consolidation in Northern Europe, a complex market where the experience and expertise of the crews are key to carrying out towing and marine salvage operations in extreme conditions,” said Vicente Boluda Fos, president of Boluda. “In addition, we are opening the Scandinavian market, providing coverage to our customers in the northernmost part of the Baltic.”
YHB they said will add to Boluda Towage its experience at the forefront of towing operations in the extreme conditions of the Baltic, where ice and low temperatures require the knowledge and the expertise of crews to perform maneuvers safely and efficiently.
The company is based in the Finnish port of Kokkola, providing harbor towage and icebreaking services in the ports of Kokkola, Vaasa, Raahe, and Kemi, as well as available elsewhere in the region. The company’s fleet consists of six vessels including both conventional tugs and ASD vessels. It acquired its first ASD tug, the Aries, from Singapore, in 2007. Its latest acquisition was also an ASD tug, the Aquila, which arrived in Kokkola from St. Petersburg in 2018.
Boluda Group reports it currently has a fleet of 364 tugs after having recently made acquisitions in France, the UK, Gibraltar, and elsewhere. It began its acquisitions in 2017 with the German towage companies of Unterweder Reederei and Lutgens & Reimers followed by Kotug Smit Towage in 2019, and in 2021, the harbor and offshore activities of Iskes Towage & Salvage. Later that year it also acquired the Scottish Caledonian Towage.
Plans to acquire Smit Lamnalco from joint venture owners Boskalis and the Saudi Arabian Rezayat Group were announced in 2013. The deal would have cemented the group’s position with a total of well over 500 vessels. Boskalis however decided to buy out the partnership and reported on Monday, October 21, that Royal Boskalis completed the acquisition of Smit Lamnalco. Boskalis had been a 50 percent shareholder in Smit Lamnalco since 1963 and through the transaction acquired all remaining shares.
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