Arcapita Bank B.S.C.(c), a leading international investment firm headquartered in Bahrain, announced today that it and its affiliates, together with existing management, have completed the acquisition of a 100% interest in Roxar AS (“Roxar”), a leading provider of technology services and equipment to the oil and gas industry.
The total transaction value is approximately US$200 million (EUR168 million) and represents Arcapita’s largest corporate investment in Europe to date. The acquisition of Roxar is consistent with Arcapita’s stated strategy of maintaining a diversified portfolio of assets that generate superior risk-adjusted returns for its high net worth and institutional investors across the GCC region. The transaction was supported by two of Europe’s leading leveraged buyout financial institutions, Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays Bank, who provided senior and mezzanine financing of US$91 million for the acquisition, together with a US$25 million working capital facility.
With offices in every continent in the world, Roxar supplies technology driven products and services that enable oil and gas companies to develop fields more cost efficiently, maximize reservoir performance and improve recovery rates. Roxar’s customer base includes 200 of the largest national and international oil companies in the world including Saudi Aramco, ExxonMobil, BP, Norsk Hydro, PDVSA (Petróleos de Venezuela S.A.), Petronas, ConocoPhilips, Shell and Statoil.
In addition, the company has fast growing operations in the GCC. Today Roxar has four support offices located throughout the Arabian Gulf, where over the past two years, annual turnover has increased by 125%. During 2005, Roxar successfully penetrated the Saudi market and with the recent addition of further resources throughout the region, the company is well positioned for strong growth within the Middle East during 2006.
Commenting on the transaction, Atif Abdulmalik, CEO of Arcapita, said: “We are pleased to have completed this noteworthy transaction that further diversifies our offering for our investors. Roxar is already a recognized leader in this fast growing market with an outstanding management team. We believe the business is well placed for significant growth.”
Sandy Esslemont, Chief Executive Officer of Roxar AS, added: “We have built Roxar into a clear technology leader in the products and services it provides to the oil and gas industry around the world. As demand for oil increases and producers face supply constraints, operators will focus ever greater attention on their ability to maximize recovery rates from existing fields and to realize higher returns from new discoveries. With its market-leading position and proprietary technology,, we believe Roxar is well positioned to take advantage of this growing trend.”
The Roxar transaction brings to 51 the total number of corporate, real-estate and asset-based investments made by Arcapita to date, with a total transaction value of over US$10.7 billion in seven years.
