DOF Group’s takeover of Maersk Supply Service is just one in a blizzard of deals that has reshaped the offshore sector in Norway.
The $1.1bn agreement, announced on Wednesday, is the latest in a string that has seen heavy hitters buy in, join forces, split up and do battle, all while the sector emerges from a decade in the doldrums.
“We consider it to be a fair price for both parties as DOF strengthens its position in the market and Maersk becomes [a] shareholder in the new company and participates in the potential upside,” said Fearnley Offshore Supply analyst Jesper Skjong.
The tie-up creates a 78-ship behemoth, with DOF shareholders John Fredriksen, Arne Blystad and Kristian Siem joining forces with AP Moller-Maersk’s controlling shareholder, AP Moller Holding.
It is the second deal Siem has been involved in this year, following his arrangement with Christen Sveaas to slice up Siem Offshore after a disagreement over the direction of the company.
Siem flipped his 35% stake in the eponymous company, then worth around NOK 3bn ($280m), for nine ships worth $521m according to VesselsValue.
As part of the deal, Siem Offshore was renamed Sea1 Offshore and will continue managing the nine ships.
Sveaas — whose Kistefos investment company already controls Swedish-registered offshore player Viking Supply Ships — has also fought a high-profile battle with Kjell Inge Rokke over Solstad Offshore.
He has argued that Rokke’s $1.2bn refinancing deal for the company was bad for shareholders and pushed to hold a special meeting to launch legal action against various Solstad Offshore insiders.
The agreement left Rokke with a 57% stake in newly created Solstad Maritime, which controls much of the old Solstad Offshore fleet.
Management at Solstad Offshore defended the deal and accused Sveaas of misrepresenting their discussions, arguing that the noted art collector never made an offer that would satisfy Solstad Offshore’s needs.
Executives have rejected Sveaas’ claims as without merit.
Still, in May, Sveaas sued Solstad Offshore’s leadership.
The activity comes as rates and utilisation in the sector pick up following a 10-year-long battering that included two oil price collapses.
But increased activity and demand for offshore wind growth have been pushing rates higher.
Clarksons assesses an anchor-handling tug supply vessel as earning $45,000 per day on a term fixture in the North Sea, flat from the 2023 average but up from $34,167 per day in 2022.
The broker said platform supply vessels in the region were also posting firmer rates in the spot and term markets, and there were similar improvements in West Africa and Brazil.
Meanwhile, Hagland Shipbrokers has North Sea spot market utilisation for offshore vessels ticking upwards, with high chartering activity.
In an email to TradeWinds, Skjong said there is a hunger for more acquisitions, but there are fewer candidates available.
“In light of the above-mentioned market dynamics, and newbuilds still behind a significant barrier for many market players, we believe that we will see more acquisitions going forward,” he said.
And while newbuilding activity has ticked up recently, headlined by an order for four PSVs by Greek magnate Evangelos Marinakis and a quartet of offshore construction vessels placed by Fredriksen’s Seatankers group, Skjong said those are years from affecting markets.
“Going forward we expect further growth in vessel demand with limited additional supply entering service and delivery windows putting any newbuilds of these types placed today years into the future,” he said.
“In essence, we expect the market to remain tight in the foreseeable future.”
