Akastor becoming majority owner of Akofs thanks to $22.5 million deal with Japanese player

Norway-based oil services investment company Akastor has signed an agreement with Japan’s Mitsui & Co. to purchase the latter’s shares in Akofs Offshore, an Oslo-headquartered provider of vessel-based subsea well construction and intervention services.

Akastor is set to purchase the Japanese player’s entire 25% interest in Akofs for $22.5 million, $15 million of which is payable at closing, while the remaining $7.5 million is anticipated to be paid in two equal tranches in June and December 2025.

Mitsui and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) purchased a set of 25%-interests in Akofs six years ago, thus forming a joint venture, with Akastor retaining a 50% share. The transaction is expected to be completed in early Q1 2025, subject to customary regulatory approvals. 

Following the completion, Akastor will hold 75% of the shares in Akofs Offshore while the remaining 25% will remain owned by MOL. As the remaining shareholders, the duo intends to negotiate and enter into a new shareholders agreement, adjusted to reflect the changed ownership, but left on “substantially similar terms.”

“We sincerely thank Mitsui for their valuable and good collaboration since 2018. We believe the timing for increasing our investment in AKOFS Offshore is right, as market dynamics within the subsea well intervention and installation sector are increasingly compelling,” said Karl Erik Kjelstad, CEO of Akastor.

“We are excited to deepen our commitment as well as to continue the journey together with MOL as partner. Together, we remain confident that AKOFS Offshore is well-positioned for continued growth in the years to come and are well aligned regarding our ownership strategy.”

As part of the transaction, Akastor will also assume Mitsui’s exposure under the guarantee structure related to the financing of Akofs Santos, a 2009-built subsea equipment support vessel (SESV) working for Petrobras off the coast of Brazil under a deal closed in late 2021. The ship is of an STX OSCV 03L design and was built by STX Europe at Aukra.

Petrobras also booked another SESV operated by Akofs – Aker Wayfarer – in July 2022. The 157-meter-long vessel is on an assignment in Brazilian waters lasting almost four years that started in the first half of 2023.

Akofs Seafarer, the third vessel operated by the Oslo-headquartered player, was hired last June to do light well intervention and coiled tubing on Equinor’s Norwegian Continental Shelf assets. The mobile drilling facility’s gig is set to last from June 1, 2023, to June 15, 2025.