The creation of a new seismic survey shipping giant has moved a step closer after charterer TGS succeeded with a takeover offer for shipowner Magseis Fairfield.
Oslo-listed Magseis said the tender to buy all its shares expired on Wednesday, with TGS reaching an acceptance level of 75%.
TGS, also listed in Oslo, said in June it intended to form a combined company with a market cap of more than $1.7bn.
The share offer was launched on 24 August.
The price was NOK 2.30 ($0.23) and 0.0426 TGS shares per Magseis share.
This valued the company at NOK 8.6 per share, or NOK 2.33bn ($236m), and was a premium of 53.7% compared with the closing price on the day before the announcement.
Magseis shareholders, including the largest investor, Fairfield, and members of the board and management, agreed to the transaction.
Between them, they control 33.4% of the company.
Magseis operates remote vehicles from ships to collect ocean bottom node (OBN) data.
It also owns the 65-loa seismic survey vessel Fairfield Endeavor (built 1977).
“With a strengthening focus on costs and cycle times in the exploration and production of oil and gas, an increasing amount of demand for geophysical data is driven by infrastructure-led exploration and production monitoring,” said TGS chief executive Kristian Johansen.
‘Unique offering’
“Combining Magseis’ leading position in the OBN market with TGS’ multi-client and data processing capabilities creates a unique offering of superior quality products and services across the value chain,” he added.
In 2018, Magseis acquired the seismic business of Houston operator Fairfield Geotechnologies, owned by US tanker company Fairfield-Maxwell.
The deal was based on an enterprise value of $233m and included data acquisition, nodal and system sale and rental activities, and all shares in Fairfield’s wholly owned UK subsidiary, WGP Group.
