Kent finalises buy of SNC-Lavalin’s oil and gas business

Dubai-based energy services company Kent, formerly Kentech, has completed the acquisition of Canada-based SNC-Lavalin’s oil and gas business.

SNC-Lavalin said that it completed the closing of the sale of its resources oil & gas business on August 15, following receipt of Saudi Arabian regulatory approval.

The company announced on 9 February 2021 that Kent has made a move to buy SNC-Lavalin’s oil and gas arm to accelerate its growth strategy and address the challenges of the energy transition.

The sale of a substantial portion of its oil and gas business was closed on 29 July, according to its binding agreement with Kent. At the time, SNC-Lavalin indicated it expected full closing to be completed by the end of the third quarter of 2021.

Ian L. Edwards, president and CEO of SNC-Lavalin, “The closing of the sale of all activities related to our Resources Oil & Gas business allows us to focus our ongoing efforts on executing our strategic direction announced more than two years ago.

“Our business is now realigned on growing our high potential core engineering services, which includes the engineering, design and project management, nuclear, and infrastructure services segments.

“We look forward to working closely with our employees, suppliers and clients to develop innovative solutions to engineer a better future for our planet and its people. I would like to thank all the Resources Oil & Gas employees for their dedication and hard work over the years and wish them much success with Kent”.

The buy increases Kent’s geographical footprint and the number of employees to over 10,000. The company will have a backlog of $1.1 billion.

As previously announced, the transaction is expected to generate a non-cash gain on the sale above the fair value write down, after accounting for the elimination of foreign exchange cumulative translation adjustments included in the historical carrying amounts of the disposed oil and gas business.