Ahmedabad: Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) is set to acquire an 80 percent stake in Astro, a global offshore service vehicle operator, in an all-cash deal for $185 million, implying an EV of $235 million and EV/FY25E EBITDA at 4.4x, said a company press release.
The transaction is expected to be value accretive from the first year itself.
Astro, which operates in the Middle East, India, Far East Asia and Africa, owns a fleet of 26 OSVs comprising of anchor handling tugs (AHTs), flat top barges, multipurpose support vessels (MPSVs) and workboats and provides vessel management and complementary services, the company statement said.
Astro is a key player in the offshore construction and fabrication and offshore transportation markets. Astros pre-qualified status with major global EPC contractors and the ability to deliver a variety of ocean-going vessels has enabled it to build a roster of Tier-1 customers in the oil gas industry.
Astros vessels also support multiple operations for leading international dredging companies, including large offshore construction and land reclamation projects. Astro leverages an efficient mix of medium to long-term contracts with customers, which allows it to maintain high fleet utilization and benefit from increasing charter rates, driven by limited supply of OSV fleet globally, according to the media statement.
Astros acquisition is part of our roadmap to becoming one of the worlds largest marine operators. Astro will add 26 OSVs to our current fleet of 142 tugs and dredgers, taking the total count to 168. The acquisition will also give us access to an impressive roster of Tier-1 customers while further consolidating our footprint across the Arabian Gulf, the Indian subcontinent and Far East Asia. We look forward to working closely with Astros leadership team and scaling up the current platform, Ashwani Gupta, whole-time director CEO, APSEZ said.
NMDC, McDermott, COOEC, Larsen Toubro and Saipem are some of the Tier 1 customers of Astro.
Over the past 15 years, we have created an impressive company trajectory, driven by strategic investments in our OSV fleet and deep relationships with our customers. This partnership with APSEZ represents a critical inflection point for us. Together, we can accelerate growth to add further scale and diversity to our fleet mix, expand our geographical footprint and deliver more end-to-end solutions to our customers, Mark Humphreys, managing director, Astro Offshore said.
During the year ending April 2024, Astro posted $ 95 million revenue and $ 41 million EBITDA.
There are no regulatory approvals required and the transaction is expected to close within a month, subject to fulfilment of operational conditions precedent.
