Classification society Lloyd's Register (LR) is offloading its energy business as part of an ongoing strategic review.
The company said the sale is viewed as the best way to realise the long-term growth of LR Energy.
The buyer is London investment fund Inspirit Capital, backed by a consortium of institutional investors.
LR, the world's first class society, said it had carried out a "comprehensive review" of its portfolio and future direction.
In August, the company announced chief executive Alastair Marsh would leave at the end of the year, to be replaced by marine and offshore director Nick Brown.
LR Energy will become a stand-alone engineering and technical consultancy offering specialist asset performance, risk management and project management expertise, taking in complex industrial assets, energy transition and rail infrastructure.
Investment in the pipeline
Marsh said Inspirit will provide the division with "further support and investment to underpin their growth objectives."
"The LR Group remains committed to the energy sector, continuing to support our clients through our offshore compliance, digital products and inspection services businesses, in collaboration with our former LR Energy colleagues where appropriate," he added.
The transaction is expected to complete on or before 31 October, and is not subject to any formal regulatory approvals.
LR Energy was founded in the 1930s as the society looked to move beyond its maritime work.
David Clark, LR’s Energy director, will lead the new company.
He said: "The increasing complexity we are seeing, with the transition and restructuring of the energy markets and the impact of digital transformation across our global energy, complex industrial and transport customers, means our solutions are more relevant than ever."
Clark added: "We look forward to working with the Inspirit team to deliver on our ambitions."
Big expansion
Since 2005, LR Energy has bought numerous smaller specialist companies like Capstone, ODS, Human Engineering, Celerity3, ModuSpec, Scandpower and WEST Engineering.
In 2013, it bought Senergy to cover the full energy chain from reservoir to refinery.
Inspirit said it typically invests in businesses that are no longer core to a parent company’s strategic objectives, or that require a different ownership structure to achieve their full potential.
Outgoing LR boss Marsh is credited with modernising the organisation during his tenure, after taking over as chief executive from Richard Sadler in 2015.
He will step down from the board but continue in an advisory and non-executive role.
