Seafox Drops Takeover Pursuit of GMS

Bartolomej Tomic
Thursday, May 28, 2020

Dutch jack-up services company Seafox has ended its pursuit to acquire rival Gulf Marine Services.

After it in April floated an idea about the possible takeover of GMS, the GMS board rejected the plan deeming the move opportunistic, valuing the company's equity "at only US$32 million," and urging its shareholders not to accept it.

Seafox has previously said that its offer, if made firm, would be 10 pence per GMS share (or $0.09 per share if higher).

GMS said last Thursday it had received letters from shareholders who collectively hold 52.24 percent of the company's issued share capital saying that they didn't plant to accept Seafox's takeover proposal, if made firm.

Seafox had until May 28 to either announce a firm intention to make an offer, or to announce that it does not intend to make an offer. It decided on the latter.

In a statement on Thursday, Seafox said that "after careful consideration, Seafox confirms that it does not intend to make an offer for GMS pursuant to Rule 2.7 of the Code."

However, Seafox said that it reserved the right to make or participate in an offer or possible offer for GMS within 6 months, subject to certain terms.

Responding to Seafox dropping the takeover pursuit, GMS said: "The Board of GMS is grateful for the clear and strong support it has received from the Company's shareholders, banks and other stakeholders over the last few weeks and looks forward to continuing to work with all parties on the continued successful development of GMS."

Earlier this week, GMS said it had won a new contract and a contract extension for two of its jack-up units in the Middle East, increasing the company's fleet utilization to 82% for 2020.

"The last time the GMS fleet operated at these levels of utilization was in 2015 on a calendar year basis," GMS said.

Categories: Energy Mergers & Acquisitions Middle East Offshore Energy Industry News Activity Europe Rigs

Related Stories

Op-Ed: Kazakhstan’s National O&G Firm Positioning Itself as Global Energy Player

Japan and South Korea Look to Partner Up with US for Alaska Pipeline

Sapura Energy Nets $720M from Multiple Drilling Services Contracts

Eco Wave Finds Partner for Wave Energy Project in India

CNOOC Starts Production at Offshore Oil Filed Equipped with CCUS Tech

Abu Dhabi's NMDC Group Gets $1.1B Subsea Gas Pipeline Job in Taiwan

Saipem’s Castorone Vessel on Its Way to Türkiye’s Largest Gas Field

AI & Offshore Energy: The Higher the Stakes, the More Value AI Creates

Harbour Energy, Mubadala Sign Deals for Central Andaman Block Off Indonesia

Yinson and PetroVietnam JV Get FSO Contract for Vietnamese Field

Current News

Fire at Petronas Gas Pipeline in Malaysia Sends 63 to Hospital

Japan’s ENEOS Xplora, PVEP Ink Deal for Vietnam Offshore Block

CNOOC Makes Major Oil and Gas Discovery in South China Sea

Valeura’s Assets in Gulf of Thailand Remain Operational After Earthquake

Op-Ed: Kazakhstan’s National O&G Firm Positioning Itself as Global Energy Player

Woodside to Shed Some Trinidad and Tobago Assets for $206M

CNOOC Sees 11% Profit Growth in 2024 Driven by Record Oil Production

‘Ultra-Mega’ Offshore Deal for L&T at QatarEnergy LNG’s North Field Gas Scheme

Keel Laying for Wind Flyer Trimaran Crew Boat

MODEC Gets Shell’s Gato do Mato FPSO Ops and Maintenance Job

Subscribe for AOG Digital E‑News

AOG Digital E-News is the subsea industry's largest circulation and most authoritative ENews Service, delivered to your Email three times per week

https://accounts.newwavemedia.com