VT Halter Marine set to expand ship repair activity

AUGUST 25, 2017 — Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd reports that it has acquired selected rig repair assets adjacent to its existing shipyard, VT Halter Marine, Inc. in Pascagoula, MS, through its subsidiary Vision Technologies Marine, Inc. It says that the acquired assets enable the group to leverage resources and derive greater synergies in its ship repair business.

It has paid US$25 million for the assets of World Marine of Mississippi LLC (WMM), consisting of a 94 acre purpose-built facility for heavy marine fabrication, and offshore oil and gas rig upgrades, repairs and conversions.the facility

Readers with a long memory will recall that the facility was once the home of Signal International and prior to that was the rig building facility of Friede Goldman Halter.

Be all that as it may, ST Engineering says that since the downturn of the offshore and marine industry, it has been looking to acquire assets that represent long-term value and can enhance its capabilities whilst offering scale advantages in the marine repair segment. The acquired assets, which are situated in a prime location in the Gulf of Mexico and with close proximity to VT Halter Marine’s Pascagoula shipyard enable the group to leverage resources and derive greater synergies in its ship repair business.

The purchase consideration was funded internally and was satisfied fully in cash at closing, and was arrived at, after arm’s length negotiations between the parties, taking into account asset values, current financial performance and future growth prospects. The unaudited net book value of the fixed assets of WMM as at December 31, 2016 was about US$14 million). This acquisition is not expected to have any material impact on the consolidated net tangible assets per share and earnings per share of ST Engineering for the current financial year.