Gulf Capital, a leading alternative investment firm in the Middle East, said its portfolio company OCB Oilfield Services has acquired 100 per cent of Kuiper International, a dominant player in the offshore construction and maintenance services sector, with a particular stronghold in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region and Australia.

 

The Kuiper deal represents the fourth bolt-on acquisition in Asia Pacific for a Gulf Capital portfolio company and almost doubles the size of OCB and extends both its geographical coverage as well as its service offerings to its client base, said a statement.

 

The OCB investment demonstrates Gulf Capital’s ability to work with successful regional businesses and to grow them internationally, either organically or via acquisitions. 

 

The combined OCB and Kuiper businesses will lead to significant diversification in customer base, service capabilities and geographical coverage.

 

Dr Karim El Solh, chief executive officer of Gulf Capital, said: “This deal represents another milestone for Gulf Capital and OCB. This latest bolt-on acquisition cements our track record in partnering with great management teams and building global platforms. 

 

"OCB, by acquiring 100 per cent of Kuiper, is expanding rapidly across Asia Pacific and Australia and firmly positioning itself as a global leader in its sector.”

 

George Gourlay, CEO, OCB, said: “The Kuiper acquisition is key to both our growth and diversification strategies. It is in line with our plans of complementing our growth by carrying out strategic acquisitions in different sectors of our industry. The Kuiper business model of providing complete crews to the construction sector of the oil and gas industry moulds well with that of OCB’s ‘Total Management Basis’ which is provided to drilling contractors in oil and gas. 

 

"OCB’s current geographic reach is a direct reflection of its crew database, which is roughly 90 per cent Indian-origin. With this acquisition, we not only add scale to our crew database with nearly 2,000 new names, but we also diversify the crew composition with a higher proportion of Malaysian, Indonesian, Filipino, Australian and expatriate crew. This allows us to tap into many more markets, like the APAC region.”

 

Gulf Capital and OCB were advised by Ernst & Young and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. 

 

The transaction funding was provided by Mashreq Bank. - TradeArabia News Service