Smit and SAAM plan joint harbor towage operation in Americas

APRIL 11, 2013 — Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. (Boskalis) announces that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Sudamericana Agencias Aereas y Maritimas S.A. (SAAM) for a joint harbor towage operation in the Americas.

The partnership would involve two joint ventures and is between Smit, a wholly owned subsidiary of Boskalis, and SAAM.

Smit tugs in Brazil

The geographic scope of the first joint venture covers the Brazilian towage market, where both companies are currently active. Boskalis, through Smit will have a 51 percent majority share in this joint venture. The JV, with a total of 41 tugboats, will be an important  player in the growing market of Brazil.

SAAM will hold 51 percent majority stake in the other JV, which covers towage activities in Panama and Canada (Smit) and Mexico (SAAM). The combination will operate a total number of 55 tugs.

Boskalis says the joint operation between Smit and SAAM will create a leading provider of towage services in Central and South America. Besides operational synergies, the joint operations will also strengthen the market position of the combined companies.

The total value of the Smit and SAAM assets respectively that will be contributed to the combined joint ventures is comparable. The implementation of the MoU is subject to certain customary conditions including a due diligence process and approval from regulatory agencies in the respective countries involved.