Oslo and London, 1 April 2009:
HitecVision and Ferncliff announced today that their common portfolio company Noble Denton Group Ltd. will be acquired by Germanischer Lloyd (GL) in an all-cash transaction.
Ferncliff and HitecVision invested jointly in Noble Denton in 2006. Since then Noble Denton has more than trebled in size and quadrupled profitability, and has been positioned as a global provider of life-cycle marine and offshore engineering services. Noble Denton had revenues of GBP 100 million in 2008, and employs 900 staff at 27 different locations in 14 countries throughout the world.
The merger of Noble Denton and Germanischer Lloyd to a fully integrated technical assurance and consulting company is an industry milestone in respect of advanced technical consulting and certification services for the energy industries. The new entity will provide assurance, inspection, and consulting as well as project management on a worldwide scale. It will focus its worldwide technical services along the entire life cycle oil & gas – upstream, midstream & downstream, renewables and energy installations onshore and offshore.
Germanischer Lloyd, headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, and Noble Denton, headquartered in London have followed similar growth strategies recently to complement their areas of expertise. Both organisations have conducted a number of acquisitions recently. Noble Denton has strengthened its portfolio by acquiring Martech Unlimited, BOMEL Consultants Ltd., Intelligent Decisions AS, Poseidon Maritime Ltd., Lowe Offshore International Inc., Standard Engineering AS and Brevik Engineering AS. Acquisitions by GL include the UK-based Advantica Group, Canadian and U.S. PV Inspection, Montreal-based Helimax, Kuala Lumpur-based Trident Consultants, U.S.-based Materials Consulting Services and International Refinery Services in Singapore.
“The merger is a reflection of the needs of our clients who increasingly face challenges in technology, environment and asset integrity. They are looking for partners who can provide a single source of engineering, consulting and project management services in the geographies in which they are based. This merger will ensure that we become the premier global business partner in oil & gas, renewables and energy supply markets,” said Pekka Paasivaara, Member of the Executive Board of Germanischer Lloyd. “Together we are now ideally positioned to support the financial services industry with due diligence for financing and insurance, with marine warranty services, certification and inspection.”
Both companies serve clients from oil companies, contractors, shipyards, ship owners, consultants, designers and financial institutions across the marine and energy industries. The joint workforce will amount to more than 6,400 employees in 80 countries.
“Noble Denton is excited to be merging with GL. We share the same values of safety, integrity and technical excellence. This partnership brings benefits to our clients and employees alike. We are now able to provide an even more comprehensive service offering to our clients, with access to a greater number of technical experts and will enable us to enter developing markets,” explained John Wishart, Group Managing Director of Noble Denton.
The transaction is subject to approval from the Norwegian competition authorities, and is expected to close during the second quarter.
About Noble Denton
With a long established presence in all major oil and gas markets worldwide Noble Denton is a world-class provider of life-cycle marine and offshore engineering services to the energy industries. The company’s existing highly-skilled dynamic workforce of around 900 employees worldwide combines practical seafaring skills and high-end analytical engineering expertise.
Delivering innovative solutions to complex problems with integrity and technical excellence, Noble Denton has been involved as a marine advisor and/or warranty surveyor in reaching most of the major milestones of the offshore industry and continues to lead the way in the development of industry standard marine operations guidelines.
- 1904: Founded by Captain Pedder in the United Kingdom
- 1970: Strong international expansion starts with a first office in Singapore
- 2003: Accelerate growth path by selected acquisitions
- 2006: Private equity investment from Ferncliff and HitecVision
- 2008: Market leader in Marine Warranty Surveys, Dynamic Positioning Assurance, and in consultancy for the offshore industry
- 2008: Acquisition of Standard & Brevik Engineering, two offshore engineering and marine consultancies
- 2009: Merger with GL
www.nobledenton.com
About Germanischer Lloyd
Germanischer Lloyd (GL) is an international technical assurance and consulting company as well as a ship classification society. The company with its head office in Hamburg, Germany, employs more than 5,500 highly skilled engineers. The global network consists of 208 locations around the globe. GL offers sophisticated services enhancing the safety, reliability, safety and performance of its clients assets, primarily related to energy production, storage and transportation.
- 1867: Founded as a German maritime classification society
- 1976: Entry in the industrial services segment (oil and gas and renewables)
- 2006: Change in ownership to family trust
- 2007: Start of a series of acquisitions in different segments. Stepped up growth initiatives.
- 2008: Service portfolio expansion in oil and gas, renewables and industrial inspection businesses
- 2009: Merger with Noble Denton
www.gl-group.com
