Swicorp, a leading private equity firm focusing on the Mena region and Turkey, has announced the successful sale of the sole asset held by Middle East Jackup Company (Meju).

Joussour Holding Company, the private equity investment vehicle investing in energy and energy intensive industries and managed by Swicorp, holds a controlling 51 per cent stake in Meju.

In an all cash transaction, Meju has sold its jackup drilling rig Haffar 1 to Compañía Perforadora Mexico(Pemsa), a subsidiary of Grupo Mexico.

The Haffar 1 is a completely outfitted and equipped, Friede & Goldman designed, Super M2 self-elevating mobile offshore drilling platform.

The rig is designed to operate in water depths of up to 300 feet and has a rated drilling depth of 30,000 ft. The Haffar 1 was constructed in Sharjah by Maritime Industrial Services Company (MIS), a unit of Lamprell.

Swicorp's original investment in Meju was predicated on a strong belief in the fundamentals of the offshore drilling industry, which was facing an aging fleet at the time of its investment in 2008.

Following the 2008 financial crisis and the severe impact it had on the energy sector in general and the offshore drilling industry in particular, Swicorp took a lead role to restructure the investment in 2010 and appointed one its managers as CEO of Meju.

Swicorp subsequently put Meju in an ideal position to benefit from the improving demand for new drilling units.

Joris Vreeburg, CEO and board member of Meju said: 'Looking back at the life of this investment, Meju has had to endure tough conditions for the drilling and credit markets during 2009.  Despite these conditions, we were able to manoeuvre Meju such that it could benefit from the turn in these markets, resulting in successful exit.'

'I am happy to see that the constructive relationship among Meju, its shareholders and the yard has been rewarded,' he added.

Nabil Triki, Swicorp head of private equity and chairman of the Meju Board said, 'Our investment in Meju has withstood a very challenging environment. We believe that overcoming these conditions was substantially a result of Swicorp's close involvement.'-TradeArabia News Service