On 1 July 2011, Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. (Boskalis) announced that it reached an agreement with The Rezayat Group of Saudi Arabia (Rezayat) to sell SMIT’s terminal and AHTS transport activities to Lamnalco Ltd. (Lamnalco). Boskalis and Rezayat each own a 50% stake in Lamnalco.
Lamnalco will pay approximately US$450 million for these activities and Boskalis will receive a net cash sum equaling around 75% of this consideration. Lamnalco will acquire all of SMIT’s terminal activities, with the exception of the terminal activities of Rebras (Brazil) and of the joint ventures in Egypt, and Singapore (Keppel-SMIT). In addition Lamnalco will take over eight L-class AHTS vessels from SMIT that are currently part of the SMIT Transport activities. On balance the activities sold represented in 2010 an EBITDA of around US$55 million.
SMIT Terminals and Lamnalco both hold a leading position in the global market for specialized services to oil and gas terminals. This is a strong growth market, driven by growing global demand for energy, in particular liquefied natural gas (LNG). The combination will create a leading world-class player and an excellent platform for further growth.
The tie-up with Lamnalco will create a resourceful company with a clear focus. Furthermore thanks to its independent structure Lamnalco is able to implement a very efficient capital structure, taking full advantage of the possibilities within the financial markets.
The combination of these two players will create considerable operational and commercial synergies. Currently operating over 50 terminal contracts, the combined entity employs more than 2000 staff on over 150 vessels and is active in more than 30 countries across five continents. The solid market position was established thanks to the quality and professionalism of the employees. This increase in scale will provide them with ample opportunity for their further personal development.
The transaction is expected to be executed in the second half of 2011, subject to satisfaction of the conditions customary for transactions of this nature. The sale of the SMIT activities is not expected to have a material one-off accounting effect on Boskalis’ 2011 income statement.