Boskalis buys Fairmount

 Louis Dreyfus Armateurs (LDA) Group today announces it has sold its Dutch subsidiary Fairmount Marine to Dutch group Royal Boskalis Westminster NV (Boskalis).

In the last 7 years, LDA Group has transformed Fairmount Marine from a pure operator into a fully integrated shipowner with a fleet of 5 modern tug vessels, dedicated to ocean towage operations.

Thanks to the Fairmount Marine team skills and know-how and the LDA Group expertise, the company has been successfully reorganized from an operator structure into a shipowning company, able to expand its various businesses and develop an excellent track record.

“LDA Group has decided to sell this company to Boskalis to give Fairmount Marine an opportunity to tackle new challenges, inside Boskalis organization. It is also a strategic decision for LDA Group to focus on its bulk transport and logistics activities as well as on marine industrial services based on long term contracts,” said the company in a statement.

The deal has also been confirmed by Boskalis, which did not reveal the exact value of the agreement but said that the transaction values Fairmount at an average multiple of approximately 6 times EBITDA.

Fairmount is a leading global provider of long distance ocean towage services operating five 205 tonnes bollard pull towing vessels with anchor handling capabilities.

The addition of these ocean going anchor handling tugs (AHTs) allows Boskalis to further expand its market position in both offshore energy and salvage. The use of ocean going tugs for long distance wet towage is complementary to Boskalis’ current dry heavy marine transport offering. With the Fairmount assets, Boskalis can offer clients the full spectrum of heavy marine transport solutions tailored for the type of cargo or specific requirements. The AHTs also have the potential of being deployed into offshore projects thereby expanding Boskalis’ current transport and installation offering and can be used in salvage projects.

Boskalis’ strategy is aimed at benefitting from key macro-economic factors which drive worldwide demand in our markets: expansion of the global economy, increase in energy consumption, global population growth and the challenges that go hand in hand with climate change. This acquisition is driven by the expansion of the global economy and increase in energy consumption.