Tidewater completes $580 million Solstad PSV fleet deal

In its continued consolidation in the offshore vessel sector New York Stock Exchange-listed Tidewater announced on Wednesday that it had completed the acquisition of a fleet of 37 PSVs for Norway’s Solstad.

Tidewater is paying $580 million, a figure $3 million higher than previously announced following a price adjustment.

“The acquired vessels make up the highest specification PSV fleet of its size in the world and will be an excellent complement to our existing fleet of PSVs. The combination also results in the largest hybrid OSV fleet in the world, with 14 battery hybrid and two LNG capable vessels,” said Quintin Kneen, Tidewater’s President and Chief Executive Officer.

“This acquisition marks the completion of another important milestone in the strengthening of Tidewater’s leadership position, and we remain focused on bringing together the world’s best OSV fleets to create the safest, most sustainable, most reliable, most profitable high-specification OSV fleet in the world.”

Last year Tidewater acquired Singapore-headquartered Swire Pacific Offshore for $190 million.

For Solstad the transaction will reduce interesting bearing debt by NOK6 billion ($561 million) as it focuses on the energy transition.

“We are very pleased with the sale of our PSV fleet. This will strengthen the balance sheet of Solstad considerably and the remaining fleet of 40 high-end CSV and AHTS vessels will all be relevant for both oil & gas and renewable energy clients. As such, Solstad will be an important operator in the ongoing energy transition,” said Lars Peder Solstad, CEO of Solstad Offshore.

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The completion of the acquisition by Tidewater followed successfully raising $250 million in net proceeds from a Nordic bond offering. This combined with a $325 million senior secured term loan with DNB Bank as lead agent to fund the deal.