MMA cheers Neptune takeover as key step in subsea expansion strategy

Australian offshore support vessel company MMA Offshore has completed the acquisition of the business of Neptune Marine Services (NMS) by acquiring its key operating subsidiaries.

MMA Offshore and Neptune Marine Services signed a binding agreement for MMA Offshore to acquire the offshore inspection, maintenance, and repair specialist Neptune for $18.5 million in total in late July 2019.

Neptune’s shareholders approved the sale to MMA and voted to change the name of the company to Blossomvale Holdings last October.

MMA announced the completion of the acquisition on Thursday, November 7, 2019.

MMA said that the final purchase consideration of A$18.5 million comprised A$5.0 million in cash and the issue of 67.6 million MMA shares to Neptune Marine Services at an issue price of A$0.20 per share, representing 7.3% of the enlarged issued capital in MMA.

MMA also said that the acquisition of the Neptune business represented an important step in its strategy to expand its subsea service offering. The company expects for the acquisition to deliver a number of strategic benefits including increased asset utilization through the improved combined service offering, utilizing vessels which can be drawn from MMA’s existing fleet and revenue synergies through incremental margin on MMA’s vessels, increased utilisation and cross selling of services.

With the acquisition timed at a low point in the market cycle, the combined business is projected to benefit from any recovery in offshore and subsea investment, MMA said.

Neptune name change

MMA has developed a detailed integration plan to integrate the NMS operations into the MMA Group. The Neptune subsidiaries and operations that have been acquired by MMA will continue to operate under the Neptune name and brand in the immediate term with a strategic branding review to be completed as part of the integration process.

Neptune Marine Services will be renamed Blossomvale Holdings, and the names of those subsidiaries which have not been acquired by MMA will also be changed so that none of them refer to “Neptune”.

MMA’s Chief Executive Officer, David Ross, said: “The Neptune acquisition is a key platform in our subsea expansion strategy enabling us to move up the services value chain and improve the returns on our assets. The combination of MMA’s high-quality vessels with Neptune’s subsea expertise will result in a stronger service offering to clients.”

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