Reach Subsea has a new strategic partner to help it develop autonomous shipping for the oil and gas and renewables sectors.
The Oslo-listed subsea vessel operator has received an offer from an undisclosed investor to buy a stake of up to 33% and cooperate on the commercialisation of the Reach Remote concept, developed with Kongsberg Maritime.
The mystery partner will buy 46.1m new Reach shares at NOK 3.25 ($0.37) each, raising NOK 150m for the company.
The offer will include new warrants priced at NOK 4, giving the investor the right to buy more shares over three years, bringing the holding to a maximum of 33%.
“The board of Reach is positive to the proposed offer, which is subject to relevant corporate approvals by both parties and certain other conditions,” Reach said.
Directors will work towards finalising an agreement within the next couple of weeks. Shareholders will then get a vote on the deal.
Reach said the Remote concept had experienced great interest from clients and potential partners across the world.
“There are several industrial players Reach is in dialogue with who wish to be part of Reach Remote, and who could contribute to the funding and commercialisation of the project,” it added.
Reach has just come off the best fourth-quarter and annual results in its history, driven by high utilisation and successful project execution.
Net earnings were NOK 22.6m, up from NOK 14.2m in the same quarter of the previous year.
A dividend of NOK 0.18 per share will be paid.
The six ships brought in revenue of NOK 191, up 46% from 2020.
Annual profit was NOK 93.8m, compared with NOK 43.1m the year before.
The company struck a deal to charter three subsea vessels for 2022 from Stig Remoy’s Olympic Subsea, and branched out into monitoring of CO2 storage reservoirs and oil and gas fields.
The Haugesund-based company agreed a transaction with domestic energy giant Equinor to acquire its shares in Bergen geophysical survey player Octio.
Reach will also buy associated operation Monviro, a carbon storage monitoring specialist owned by Octio employees.
“I am happy to say that 2021 as a whole was the best year ever for our company,” said Reach chief executive Jostein Alendal.
“We are seeing healthy demand across sectors. High commodity prices, led by record-high gas prices, are driving up activity levels in the petroleum sector.”
Alendal also sees the emergence of new industries, with record carbon capture project pipeline growth globally in 2021.
