James Fisher buys subsea assets from S3

May 4, 2015

James Fisher Offshore Ltd, part of James Fisher and Sons plc, has reached an agreement with KPMG in Scotland to acquire a number of subsea assets free from encumbrances from Specialist Subsea Services Limited (S3).

S3, that was acquired by the Reef Group in 2009, went into administration and dismissed most of its workers in February 2015. KPMG was named as its administrator.

According to the press release, the investment further compliments the James Fisher groups’ existing capabilities in the subsea sector to “enable the provision of a fully integrated subsea service offering to its customers”, including:

– Air, nitrox and saturation diving systems and equipment;
– Diving services;
– Inspection class ROV rental and services;
– Provision of specialist ROV operators and offshore personnel;
– Specialist subsea cranes and grabs;
– Largest subsea winch rental fleets available in the North Sea;
– Subsea excavation services;
– Specialist subsea monitoring solutions.

Commenting on the transaction Aidan Douglas, Group Operations Director at James Fisher and Sons plc, said: “I am delighted that we have been able to undertake this investment. These assets represent a further step forward in our ability to provide customers with a comprehensive range of capabilities. James Fisher aims to support customers in simplifying their supply chain as well as further benefiting from a partner that can immediately respond to their needs during the completion of complex subsea projects.”

The company says that, where possible, it intends to support existing contracts where these assets are currently deployed and will evaluate further opportunities to realise additional value for stakeholders.

Blair Nimmo, joint administrator and head of restructuring for KPMG in Scotland, said: “We would like to thank everyone involved for their significant efforts in helping to deliver this outcome. We are very pleased to have concluded the sale of these assets to James Fisher Offshore. We wish them every success for the future.”