DOF Group has completed its blockbuster $1.1bn acquisition of Maersk Supply Service.
The Norwegian offshore player said on Friday that it had issued Maersk Supply Service the agreed-upon mix of cash and shares, completing the deal and giving DOF Group a workforce of more than 5,000 running a fleet of 78 vessels.
Chief executive Mons Aase said: “We would like to use this opportunity to welcome all our new colleagues to DOF.
“We very much look forward to collectively further developing the combined company as a global leading offshore service provider.”
The deal, the biggest of several offshore mergers and acquisitions moves this year, was announced in July and saw DOF Group take control of its Danish rival for a combination of $557m in cash and roughly 58.9m new shares.
The agreement left Maersk Supply Service, backed by AP Moller-Maersk, with a 25% stake in DOF Group.
In the announcement, DOF Group said the core business remains the same: “offering world-class vessels and integrated offshore services for the oil and gas industry, and for a growing offshore wind market”.
The acquisition plus optimism in the offshore space — fuelled by increasing competition for vessels between traditional oil and gas outfits and renewables projects on top of an ageing fleet and small orderbook — pushed Aase to say the next few years will be “a lot of fun” for the company and its investors.
Speaking at its capital markets day in September, Aase said DOF Group was looking to accelerate refinancing plans a year ahead of time to begin paying dividends sooner.
Around lunchtime, DOF Group shares were up NOK 0.65 ($0.06) to NOK 88.05.
