SEACOR Marine Holdings Inc., a global provider of marine and support transportation services to wind farm facilities, has entered into a binding definitive sale and purchase agreement to sell Windcat Workboats Holdings Ltd. and its crew transfer vessel (CTV) business to and Compagnie Maritime Belge (CMB), a diversified shipping and logistics group.
As consideration for the sale, at the closing of the transaction, CMB will pay SEACOR Marine $44.6 million in cash and assume all of the approximately $27.8 million of debt outstanding under Windcat’s existing revolving credit facility. The transaction is expected to close on or prior to Jan. 12, 2021.
“I am pleased to announce this transaction as the capstone on our successful investment in Windcat and its team,” says John Gellert, CEO of SEACOR Marine. “I thank all the Windcat employees over the years for their exceptional work and dedication in building this business, including its founders Robbert van Rijk and Neil Clarkson, and I look forward to opportunities to work with them and the broader CMB team in the growing U.S. offshore wind market. The proceeds from this transaction will further strengthen our position in a challenging environment and allow us to continue developing other opportunities in our core markets.”
Windcat is among the leading offshore wind support vessel providers in Europe. The company owns and operates, directly or through its joint ventures, a fleet of 46 CTVs in the European offshore wind sector. Windcat’s CTVs are designed and built under the supervision of Windcat management, a team with more than 18 years’ experience in the industry. The existing Windcat management team will continue to lead the company after the completion of the transaction.
Windcat is headquartered in Lowestoft, the U.K., and IJmuiden, the Netherlands, and has joint ventures with two local partners, FRS Windcat Offshore Logistics in Germany and TSM Windcat in France. Windcat employs approximately 180 shore-based and sea-going personnel.
Clarksons Platou Securities acted as sole financial advisor to SEACOR Marine. Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP acted as legal advisor to SEACOR Marine.
